Eileen

How does Eileen combat the gendered expectations of 1964 America? Does Eileen’s distaste for marriage and other feelings about gender norms make her a feminist? Why or why not?

If Rebecca had been a man, do you think Eileen still would have loved them and been willing to force Mrs. Polk’s confession? Would she still have wanted to leave X-ville? Why or why not?

Analyze the characters of Rebecca and Joanie as foils for Eileen. In which ways are they similar to Eileen? In which ways different? How does Eileen’s envy and resentment of Joanie impact her relationship with Rebecca?

Describe the novel’s theme of incarceration. Other than Moorehead prison, what other social, religious, and gendered prisons do Eileen and the novel’s characters live in?

Alcohol addiction is a staple of Eileen’s home life. How does alcohol addiction contribute to her poor relationship with her father? How does Eileen’s own drinking impact her decisions?

The narrator describes her current life with happiness and shows no remorse for the actions she took while living in X-ville. She does not write of her time as Eileen to absolve herself of guilt for leaving her father or potentially murdering Mrs. Polk. Why, then, do you think the narrator has decided to tell this story fifty years later? What evidence from the novel do you think supports the narrator’s decision to write?

How does Mrs. Polk’s silence about her husband’s crimes motivate Eileen to pursue her escape from X-ville?

Rebecca’s sense of moral authority depends on her idealism, yet she loses confidence and authority after detaining Mrs. Polk. Why is Eileen better suited to making Mrs. Polk confess?