The Robber Bride

World War II is a significant event in the characters’ lives, either directly or indirectly. In what ways, both explicit and implicit, does the war affect the lives of Tony, Charis, and Roz?

Zenia is purposefully written as an enigma. While Atwood gives voluminous details about her three main women, she provides next to nothing about Zenia, with the exception of sketchy stories that may or may not be true. What is Atwood’s purpose for Zenia’s vague and shadowy background?

By giving her readers so much detail about her characters’ lives, Atwood draws a direct link between a person’s past and present. How do each of the characters’ pasts inform the adults they ultimately become?

Explain Atwood’s take on feminism, particularly its Second Wave (1970s). How do her characters embody the nuanced pros and cons of feminism?

Atwood views religion, particularly organized religion, with skepticism. Rather than adhere to any particular structured religion, Charis practices an amalgam of mysticism and New Age practices. How does Atwood view Charis’s “religion” compared to traditional Catholicism or Judaism?

Explain Tony’s habit of spelling words backward. Why does she do it? What solace does it give her?

Tony, Charis, and Roz are all disconnected from their truest, most authentic selves. Do they ultimately find those authentic selves? What is the catalyst that forces them to make that reconnection?

At the end of the novel, Tony questions their own similarities to Zenia. “Are we in any way like her?” (520), she wonders. Are Atwood’s main characters similar to Zenia in any way? Does Zenia represent the darkness within them they’d prefer not to acknowledge?