Why Hello again,
Emily here, reporting in after finally managing to have down time enough to finish Juliet and find some amazing questions online about the whole thing. I found my favorite questions and have listed them below. I'll be answering them tomorrow, and I'll be looking forward to hearing what everyone else has to say.
Warning: If you HAVE NOT FINISHED DO NOT READ THROUGH THE QUESTIONS :-) I don't want to spoil it for you.
I have to say that this is probably one of the best novels I have read in the last few years. I really enjoyed it and had a blast reading it feeling as though I could not put it down!
That is all for now folks. Hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!
1.) In Anne Fortier's novel Juliet, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet casts a long shadow over the lives of the main characters, past and present. Looking at the "original" story of Romeo and Giulietta set in 1340, consider in what ways Fortier uses Shakespeare's great tragedy as a model for her own work, and in what ways she departs from it.
2.)Discuss the ways in which the bonds of sisterhood—for good and for ill—are central to the novel. Why do you think Fortier introduces this element into her story?
3.) Although there are surprising revelations about all the characters in the novel, perhaps the most shocking has to do with Umberto, Aunt Rose's faithful butler. Did you find Umberto to be a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
4.) Very early in the novel, we are introduced to Julie's recurring dream—a dream that seems to foretell her own fate and to recapitulate the fate of Romeo and Guilietta centuries earlier. Is there a rational explanation for this dream, or is it a supernatural occurrence? And what about the other seemingly supernatural events or objects in the novel, such as the divine intervention of the Virgin Mary on Giulietta's wedding night with Messer Salimbeni, or the destructive powers of Romeo's signet ring; can these events be explained rationally?
5.) Why does Friar Lorenzo champion the young lovers, risking his life on their behalf? Do you think he is justified in placing a curse on both the Tolomei and the Salimbeni houses?
6.) Maestro Lippi occupies the studio of Maestro Ambrogio, and, like Ambrogio, he, too, has a dog named Dante. Is the author trying to suggest that Lippi is some kind of reincarnation of Ambrogio? What is the relationship between these two characters, separated by centuries?
7.) What about Julie and Alessandro: Are they reincarnations of Giulietta and Romeo, forced to repeat the actions of their ancestors by the terms of an ancient curse, or by some genetic inheritance? In what ways do the lives of the two sets of characters parallel or echo each other? In what ways are they different?
8.) At one point, Alessandro tells Julie: "In my opinion, your story—and Romeo and Juliet as well—is not about love. It's about politics." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? What do you think the author's opinion is?
9.) Another prevalent theme is that of twins and twinning. Not only are some characters born as twins, but others seem to be mirrored across the centuries. At one point in the novel, Julie sits on the front steps of the Siena Cathedral, thinking about the myth behind the black-and-white Siena coat-of-arms, the Balzana, which involves a pair of twins fleeing from their evil uncle on a black and a white horse. Why do you think Fortier has woven these threads—twinning and black-and-white—so strongly into her fictional tapestry?
10.) At the end of the novel, Julie muses: "Who knows, maybe there never was a curse. Maybe it was just us—all of us—thinking that we deserved one." Do you think there was a curse, or not?
1.) In Anne Fortier's novel Juliet, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet casts a long shadow over the lives of the main characters, past and present. Looking at the "original" story of Romeo and Giulietta set in 1340, consider in what ways Fortier uses Shakespeare's great tragedy as a model for her own work, and in what ways she departs from it.
ReplyDeleteAnne Fortier takes the original shakespear and interweaves it with a wonderfully romantic present day story where she even manages to weave in some of the lines to original shakespeare. I enjoyed the ways she interwove the story into the rest of her novel. It worked quite well and I was a bit suprised that she was so able to keep her own story running throughout rather than losing it within the shakespeare.
2.)Discuss the ways in which the bonds of sisterhood—for good and for ill—are central to the novel. Why do you think Fortier introduces this element into her story?
I think the sisterhood in the story is used, in the beginning to make us feel proper sympathy for our main character. It is quite obvious that we are supposed to feel her pain and her need for adventure, and having the history along with her sister and the way her sister is favored and they don't get along leads right into the sisterhood idea. They form a bond which was written through history, and they manage to come out okay in the end, another happy bit of the story.
3.) Although there are surprising revelations about all the characters in the novel, perhaps the most shocking has to do with Umberto, Aunt Rose's faithful butler. Did you find Umberto to be a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
I found him sympathetic and quite confusing. I was a bit unsure of the way that he was written in. it was almost too easily that he was everything which shouldn't have happened, and he molded from friend, to enemy, to long lost father. IT was a bit weird to have him as each part of the story.
4.) Very early in the novel, we are introduced to Julie's recurring dream—a dream that seems to foretell her own fate and to recapitulate the fate of Romeo and Guilietta centuries earlier. Is there a rational explanation for this dream, or is it a supernatural occurrence? And what about the other seemingly supernatural events or objects in the novel, such as the divine intervention of the Virgin Mary on Giulietta's wedding night with Messer Salimbeni, or the destructive powers of Romeo's signet ring; can these events be explained rationally?
I don't think these parts were written in to be anything more than something which couldn't be explained. though, i'm sure many could manage it scientifically. I choose to let it be as it is and keep it with the divine idea.
5.) Why does Friar Lorenzo champion the young lovers, risking his life on their behalf? Do you think he is justified in placing a curse on both the Tolomei and the Salimbeni houses?
I think he champions the young lovers because he truly thinks that there is some divine reason for the two to be united. He seems to believe that there is a reason and a union which needs to happen in this stage in history. I also think he was very justified on placing the curse on both houses, they led themselves into their own downfall. And the curse was to remind them to cease the arguements and try and find peace.
6.) Maestro Lippi occupies the studio of Maestro Ambrogio, and, like Ambrogio, he, too, has a dog named Dante. Is the author trying to suggest that Lippi is some kind of reincarnation of Ambrogio? What is the relationship between these two characters, separated by centuries?
I think we find a bunch of reincarnation throughout this piece. It was quite interesting to see where the ties ran. It could be easily explained by the artist reading the past journal and figuring out that the stories both parallel themselves.