Review Questions: Chapter 15

 

1.      Consider Eppie’s state of mind as she waits outside the apartment for her roommates to return home.  Why does she feel unsatisfied with her new life after having moved in with Rachel and Allison?  What things are missing from the present arrangement that makes her life feel “formless and empty”?  How might this situation change in the future?

 

2.      Do you sympathize with Eppie’s stated desire to do something to “earn her keep”?  Do you agree with Rachel and Allison’s refusal to require anything of Eppie in return for her upbringing?  Is their philosophy of making “freedom” the primary goal in Eppie’s life a sound one?  Why or why not?  Knowing something about Rachel and Allison’s backgrounds, how do you think they might justify their point of view on this subject?  If you were in Rachel or Allison’s position, how would you respond to Eppie’s concern?

 

3.      Consider the immediate circumstances in which Eppie, Rachel, and Allison find themselves in this chapter, (i.e., Eppie sitting outside the apartment and Rachel and Allison in jail.)  What irony is inherent in these situations?

 

4.      When Rachel and Allison need to get the attention of a guard from inside their jail cell, how do the two women manage to do it?  Once the guard has shown up, how does Allison then manage to get him to accede to their request?  How might their tactics in this chapter be reflective of their natural tendencies when engaged in other tasks?

 

5.      Why does the Mayor dislike the pills that have been prescribed for his wife?  Given his level of distain for them, why does he nevertheless buy them for her?  Does this compromise in his personal life render his public policies on matters such as abortion hypocritical?  Why or why not?

 

6.      What is the reason for Andrew’s dour mood as he prepares to leave the church for the evening?  To whom does he first look for relief from his sad frame of mind?  In whom does he finally find that relief, and why?  What symbolic meaning does the final portion of this chapter invest into Eppie as a character?