Essay Questions

In what ways could Claudia be considered a Feminist?

Claudia could be considered a Feminist primarily because of the way she lived her life at a time in history when women just did not live independently that way. Although during World War Two women were called upon to undertake jobs that had either not existed before, or that had been done by men, she went one step further and actively sought out postings that interested her. Rather than waiting to be given a posting she actively petitioned to be assigned to the Cairo office where she would be a war correspondent This kind of pushing oneself forward was not typically something that women did in those days.

After the war, Claudia remained a woman who would push the envelope of what was acceptable. She made a conscious decision to have a baby by a man she was not married to and to continue their relationship on her terms. She also made the decision to give up her child when she realized motherhood was not something that was for her.

Claudia remains unmarried on purpose for her entire adult life after losing Tom. She never settles but feels that she can live on her own terms. This makes her a Feminist, especially during the era in which the book is set.

Why do you think Claudia bonded with the child she miscarried but not with the child she began to raise herself?

The main reason for Claudia's distance from Lisa is most likely due to the fact that she had never got over the death of her first child, and with that death, the death of the last connection she had with Tom on earth. She tells the reader a number of times that she remained tormented throughout her life because of the child that she lost, and because she never even knew if she was supposed to have a girl or a boy. These feelings of loss also connected with feelings of guilt and having a healthy child with Jasper, a man she never loved, but not being able to do the same for Tom, the man she loved more than anything.

Claudia keeps her distance from Lisa from the time of her birth, and although she feels that she loves her, does not feel able to mother her, and also feels that she does not have the time to be a mother. Had she been able to give birth to and raise Tom's child she would have felt a connection to Tom through this child, but because she feels no emotional connection to Jasper she does not have an emotional connection to his child either.