The Nightingale

The Nightingale contains many examples of foreshadowing. Choose three instances and discuss how Hannah uses them to establish tone, hint at characters’ fates, tie different scenes together, etc.

Over the course of the novel, the apple tree at Le Jardin sickens and dies. Discuss the symbolic significance of this. How else does Hannah use changes to the landscape to underscore themes of trauma and loss?

Discuss the relationship that develops between Vianne and Beck. In what ways does it resemble a marriage? How does it compare to Vianne’s later relationship with Von Richter, and what do both relationships suggest about gender norms at the time?

At one point, Beck tells Vianne that, “We men are perhaps too quick to reach for our guns” (331). How does The Nightingale challenge traditional (and masculine) ideas about what it means to fight or resist through Isabelle and Vianne’s experiences of WWII?

Compare and contrast Micheline Babineau and Marie-Therese, paying close attention to the roles they play in the lives of Isabelle and Vianne, respectively. 

What role do Rachel and her children play in The Nightingale? How does their story inform or develop the novel’s themes?

Consider Vianne’s claim that her son “knows nothing about the kind of sacrifice that, once made, can never be either fully forgotten or fully borne” (444). What kinds of sacrifices does Vianne make over the course of the novel? Which ones seem to trouble her the most, and why?

What does Hannah mean when she says that love shows us “who we want to be” (1)? Identify and discuss at least three examples of love transforming or redeeming the novel’s characters.