Nora Goes Off Script

How does Nora’s identity as a mother affect how she deals with romance and heartbreak?

Discuss the thematic significance of the play Oliver Twist. How does it resonate with Arthur’s real-life narrative? Why does Annabel Monaghan pick this play rather than another for the big community event?

How could an analysis of Bernadette and Arthur’s characters enrich the theme of gender roles and power dynamics in the novel?

Are Leo and Nora compatible partners? In what ways are they similar to one another? How are they different?

Nora and Leo are separated by a simple misunderstanding that neither tries to correct. Analyze their communication throughout the novel. Where does their communication fail, and how could they correct it?

There are a number of different marriages in the novel. Compare and contrast these relationships. How are they different? Is there anything they all share?

Over the course of the novel, Nora inhabits a number of different identities, including mother, divorcee, and girlfriend. How does she manage these shifting identities, and what does she learn from each of her relationships?

Discuss the importance of setting in the novel. In addition to the tea house, what other locations are important on symbolic and thematic levels?