The nightingale reading guide

The Nightingale

Reader’s guide

Questions

1. The Nightingale opens with an intriguing statement that lays out one of the major themes of the book: “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.” What do you think the narrator means by this? Is love the ideal and war the reality? How does war change the way these characters love? How does love influence their actions in the war? On a personal level, has love affected your life choices? Have those choices affected who and how you love?

I think the narrator means is that when filled with feelings, you discover a part of yourself, or a wannabe part for the person you love (I’m not talking about romantic love as other types of love exists); but when you are face to face with war, it's all about survival and it’s the harsh reality that makes you discover who you really are: if you are willing to help others even if that can be the cause of your death, for example. We can say that love is an ideal, as it is really idealised in books or movies, but I honestly think that real love is full of hardships and sacrifices and by consequences not an Ideal. It’s really contradictory, because some part of love is an ideal, feels like a dream, but another is . I do not think that war is reality, it is an extreme version of reality.

War changed the way the characters love because they had to make tough decisions, lie to their loved ones, and some were even separated from their loved ones. In war, people search for refuge, not only physical refuge - but moral. They search to be loved, take Isabelle Roussignol for example, when she met Gaëtan it only took a kiss for her to love and feel kinda loved (only in the instant of the kiss) as someone was showing her affection.

2. Take a moment to talk about the narrative structure of The Nightingale. Why do you think Kristin Hannah chose to keep the narrator’s identity a secret in the beginning and end of the novel? Were you surprised by who it turned out to be? Did you go back and reread the beginning of the novel once you finished? Were you satisfied when you discovered who was narrating the novel?

I think that she chose to keep the narrator’s identity to leave a certain suspense, mystery.This whole book is about identities, so leaving the narrator's identity a secret

seemed to be a wise decision. Throughout the whole book i knew it was one of the two sisters, and at the end, when Isabelle was sick and asked the people she loved to remember her, I knew she was dying and so the narrator’s identity was no surprise to me. I didn’t really understand the decision of the writer to do a narrator, I personally think it didn’t add much to the story, except knowing what happened to the characters (which I personally think it would've been à nicer ending done another way - the end is a bit cliché her reuniting with Ari and Gaëtan-) but that of course is a personal opinion.

3. Many characters chose to construct a secret identity in The Nightingale. How did pretending to be someone else determine each character’s fate, for better or worse? And what about those who had no choice, like Ari and Julien?

All the characters doing resistance had to have fake papers and a new identity in case they’re caught, to protect their Families. Having a new identity was hard for those who hadn’t had the choice, but it was for the best or else they would have been sent to the concentration camps and most likely died there. I don’t relieve believe in fate, but pretending to be someone else was hard for the characters to be lying to the ones they love , but it helped them save people and save themselves.

4. The sisters Isabelle and Vianne respond to the war in very different ways. Isabelle reacts with anger and defiance, risking her life to join the resistance against Nazi occupation. Vianne proceeds with caution and fear, avoiding conflicts for the sake of her children. Who do you admire—or relate to, or sympathize with—more, Vianne or Isabelle? Discuss your reasons. You may choose to share your own stories and experiences as well.

I honestly admire both sisters. Vianne had so much courage while germans where in her home, especially when the second one raped her multiple times. She stayed strong for her kids and didn't abandon them by comiting suicide (even though she wanted to).It was also hard for her to keep her family safe with her sister that kept saying things taat could put them in danger. I relate with Vianne because think that if I were her I would do the same as her in order to protect my children. On the other hand, I feel like the author shifted the focus to Isabelle and made us relate to her. She started describing more and more the feelings of the character. By doing that she made us feel what she feels and relate to her. I also admire a lot Isabelle, she risked her life to save others. I sympathize with both of them, they went through a lot of hardships and stayed strong.

5. The book captures many of the era’s attitudes about men and women. Isabelle, for example, is told that women do not go to war. Vianne is confused by her new wartime role as provider. Their father, Julien, is cold and distant, unwilling to fulfill his parental duties after his wife dies. Have gender roles changed much since World War II? Have women always been strong in the face of adversity, but not recognized for their efforts? Vianne says that “men tell stories. . . women get on with it.” Do you agree with her?

I think that even though there are still a lot of stereotypes based on your gender, gender roles have changed. A few decades ago, women depended on men financially, to travel they needed a written authorization from their husbands etc… Nowadays, women are more independent (of course it depends on the cultures and the families), they obtained the right to vote, to have a bank account, etc… All of the changes towards gender equality made us change gender roles. The father isn’t the one who has to provide for the family, both parents can work now. Even if biologically women “has” the role of taking care of small babies, men now can do it too, in France men have access to paternity leave (even if its still perfectable). Even though there are less and less gap between men and women’s rights?

I agree with Vianne but only in the context of the war. We rarely hear the war from women’s point of view, only what happened on the front. In any other context I disagree (based on what I see in my everyday life), I feel like women are the ones who talk a lot and tell all the stories. An example is my grandparents, my grandma does all the talking and my grandpa doesnt say anything, we just laugh together on how talkative my grandma is.

6. Isabelle’s niece, Sophie, admires her aunt’s courage: “Tante Isabelle says it’s better to be bold than meek. She says if you jump off a cliff at least you’ll fly before you fall.” Do you agree? Is it better to take a risk and fail than never try at all? Do you think you could have acted as heroically as Isabelle under such horrifying circumstances? Who is more heroic in your mind—Isabelle or Vianne?

Being meek/submissive is your ideas aren’t heard by the others. Of course it’s good to follow the rules, especially in war time. Being bold (in this context) can get you killed, but at the same time its good, because you aren't afraid (or even if you are, you have courage) to do stuff, and stuff that help people (like Isabelle). I don't really know which is better but I understand that someone with a strong personality like Isabelle prefers to be bold than meek. I thinks that’s it better to take a risk and fail than to never try at all. If the fail equals death I don't think you should take the risk unless it’s to help innocent people that are in danger, but you need a lot of courage to do it. Failing helps you to learn and get stronger - under normal (not war) circumstances - .

I don’t think I would have acted as heroically as Isabelle. I don’t even have the courage to disobey my parents, I don't think I could save lives while secret police are watching my every move, and I could get killed and tortured. I just wouldn't be courageous enough. If I lived during WWII I would have done nothing, or just like Vianne because I wouldn't have the heart to see small children sent away, or separated from their mothers.

I think that Isabelle was the most heroic because she did ~27 trips in the Pyrenees, and saved a lot of lives. Vianne was also very heroic, because she endured a lot for her children and saved a lot of them, by forging papers even though a nazi was staying in her house

7. Perhaps one of the most chilling moments in the book is when Vianne provides Captain Beck with a list: Jews. Communists. Homosexuals. Freemasons. Jehovah’s Witnesses. We now know how wrong it was to provide this list, but can you understand why Vianne did it? What do you think you would have done?

We all say it’s wrong to provide the list, but she didn’t know what really was that list for. I think she did it because she knew she couldn't lie to him because he was a nazi. He also claimed the list was only made to be clerical, and she believed him because she had a certain trust in him. I don't know what I would have done.

8. Each of the sisters experiences love in a different way. Vianne’s love is that of a mature woman, a wife and a mother devoted to her family; Isabelle’s love is