Questions for Volume II: The Doll's House

MarianCallMarianCall
edited February 2014 in Weekly Questions Before Reading
Over the next week let us read Vol. II: The Doll's House.  Things to consider as you read go here!  Questions that interest you go here!

I'll start with these...

- We talked a lot about imprisonment and escape and playing "puppetmaster" during Vol. I, and those themes definitely carry over into The Doll's House.  How do those themes unfold and develop?

- The boundaries between people and their private spaces, even their minds, become problematic in this book.  Where do we see physical representations of the divisions between people, and where do we see transgressions?

- What do you like and dislike about the first two volumes?  Where did they begin speaking to you, drawing you in -- where did they lose you?

Comments

  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    edited February 2014
    My questions may be spoilery, so I'm putting some of them in whitetext. 

    Why the presence of G.K. Chesterton? Is it because he is also a creator of stories? He doesn't create any stories during the course of the volume, so why him specifically? 

    We are told that the story at the beginning of the book is the one told by men, to men, and that the women's story may be different. What is the significance of this? Why are we not given the women's story? 

    The close relationship between Desire and Despair seems important. In what ways does it mirror the relationship between Death and Dream? 


  • reo_1963reo_1963
    I see a lot of back story in 9 - 16.
    Mr Gaiman is introducing us to some of the rules that Dream must maintain and some of the ways he can be entangled. Themes (beyond those already noted) to look for:

    - Revenge & Reconciliation
    - Conflict & Cooperation
    - Selfishness & Service
  • MattTroedsonMattTroedson
    Hi Joi,

    I read the white text and I think it's because Mr. Gaiman liked the author quite a bit.  He *was* a young fiction writer then so perhaps it was just a head-tilt of respect for someone who influenced his own storytelling.

    -Matt
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    White text is a brilliant idea for spoilery things!
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    I think in this book we start to see Dream emerge as a character in a much clearer way than in book 1.

    What are his boundaries and rules?

    What is the Endless' relationship to the gods, and to mortals? (Desire and Dream seem to have a very different idea about this, maybe informed by Dream's recent experience?)

    What are his character flaws?

    Where do we see him show anger and compassion, and what does that say about him?
  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    edited February 2014
    Matt: Oh, I'm sure he was an influence. But Gaiman doesn't pick existing characters randomly. I think he must have had a reason for picking Chesterton specifically, and I'd like to think about what that reason might be.

    *slight spoiler in white text*
  • DanielDaniel
    Did you read "The Story So Far" section? There are some things stated outright that were only hinted at in book one. Is this the writer stating fact, or the dreamer making one interpretation?

  • DanielDaniel
    Suggestion for first time readers:

    So you've just read the first book - What are your questions? What are your expectations for what's to come?

    Even if it's just a half-formed thought, please try to share it with us. That fresh experience is sought after, and sometimes just a word or two can trigger new ideas.
  • reo_1963reo_1963
    Whom (mortal or otherwise) does Morpheus kill? 
    Not indirectly. Not drives them temporarily or permanently insane. Near misses do not count.
    But hands on, out right, they are never coming back, he kills them stone cold dead.

    (This could apply in any book. But I am focusing on just Book 1 & 2.)
  • DanielDaniel
    What makes a story change or stay the same? What is the driving force?
    Oh, I'm going to have a lot of fun on this idea this weekend.
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Ooh, good questions, guys.
  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    Does the title "A Doll's House" (especially in the section where the title is specifically named by Rose Walker) have any connection to the relationship between authors/creators and characters/their creations?
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