Questions for Teachers and Students



Characters

 

1. How did Felise’s relationship with her father shape her decisions the course of the novel? Her relationship with Ameline?

2. Felise and Georges are attracted to one another despite their differences. Discuss those differences as well as any similarities.

3. How did Felise’s feeling about Jeanne change over the course of the novel?

 

Historical

 

1. Merchants, scribes, tanners, and healers are shown at their day-to-day work in A Tale of Two Maidens. Describe the most vivid details of medieval work.

2. In the culture of twenty-first century America, strong female characters, such as Katniss and Lisbeth, enjoy popularity and in real life we have Hilary Clinton and Danica Patrick. How do our popular fictional and historical women differ from Joan of Arc and other famous women of the Middle Ages?

3. Jeanne was an atypical woman of the Middle Ages. What does the novel show about more typical roles available for women during the fifteenth century?

4. How has warfare changed from the fifteenth century until now?

5. Compare religion in the fifteenth century to religion in Europe and the United States today.

6. What does the novel reveal about the experiences of marginalized people in the Middle Ages?

 

Personal

 

1. Did Felise’s relationship to her father remind you of how you relate to your father?

2. Have you ever had to balance ambition and love in your own life? Do any girls or women you know have to do so?

3. If you were in Felise’s place, would you have made different choices on your journey? Why or why not?

4. If you were Felise’s friend, what advice would you give her about her confusion about Georges?