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Nina: Adolescence
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Discussion Questions
1. Mothers are some of the most mythologized
beings in our culture. We have strict ideas
about what makes a mother a "good" mother.
According to your own ideas, how does Marian
fare as a mother? How do you feel about her?
Why? Were she a man, would you feel the same
way?
2. Conversely, how do you feel about Henry
as a father? Do you believe he should have
acted differently?
How much do the paintings affect Nina's
frame of mind? How much do you fault the
event of Jonas' drowning, and the response
of her parents to his death? What other
factors influence her?
3. Henry objects to Marian's paintings of
Nina because he feels they are too sexually
provocative, too revealing. Is his objection
valid? Where is the line between art and
pornography? Are there limits to artistic
freedom?
4. How does the fact that Nina is Marian's
daughter interact with and perhaps interfere
with the paintings? Do you think Marian
could have painted the same sort of
paintings of a girl who was not her
daughter?
5. What role does Charles Bouvier play in
the novel? How do his comments about the
painting "Nina: Adolescence" affect Nina?
Marian? Henry?
6. Is Marian telling the truth when she says
she is no longer in contact with Leo? Do you
feel she has changed by the end of the book?
How?
7. How do you take Leo's final letter to
Nina? Is it sincere?
8. Do you feel that there is anything
positive about Nina's relationship with Leo?
9. Where is Nina headed as the book ends?
Who do you think she'll become?
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