Daughter Of Fortune

Eliza’s relationship to Joaquín Andieta and Tao’s relationship to Lin change over the course of the story. Compare and contrast Eliza’s love for Joaquín with Tao’s love for Lin.

Compare and contrast Miss Rose’s love affair with Karl Bretzner and Eliza’s love affair with Joaquín Andieta, including their starting points and consequences.

How do Dr. Ebanizer Hobbs and Jacob Todd/Freemont serve as cultural bridges in the novel?

Analyze the different ways in which Miss Rose and Mama Fresia serve as mothers to Eliza Sommers and the impact these approaches have on Eliza’s life.

In this novel, a number of characters undergo name changes. Analyze the significance of the alterations in name for Tao Chi’en, Jacob Todd, and (supposedly) Joaquín Andieta.

How does Allende indicate the racial hierarchies that existed in Chile and California? Although slavery is illegal in both territories, how does the novel suggest that slavery continues in different forms?

What do Eliza’s voyage and the events that happen to her during the ocean journey between Valparaíso and San Francisco symbolize in terms of her development?

Analyze the significance of the different sections of the Sommers home in Valparaíso in terms of the roles of Jeremy, Miss Rose, Mama Fresia, and Eliza.