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1. Talk about Hedy's marriage to Friedrich
Mandl. Was there any indication beforehand of his jealous and violent
nature, any clues that might have warned Hedy off? What were the
familial and political pressures that convinced Hedy, merely a teenager,
to marry a man much older than she?
2. Once in America, how did Hedy's grief and guilt inspire her to turn
to scientific investigation? How had her father helped prepare her for
the rigors of science?
3. Are you able to grasp the basics of frequency-hopping, as well as its
potential boon to the war effort? Does the author do an a good job
explaining the science?
4. Talk about the era's view of women. How did Hedy react to the
misogyny, prejudice, even humiliation that she faced in her attempt to
interest the military in her invention. Might her beauty and fame as a
"mere" film star have made it even more difficult for her to have her
invention taken seriously?
5. Follow-up to Question 4: Do a bit of research into other women
in history who faced similar barriers in their attempts to penetrate the
male domains of science and technology. Consider the plight of the women
of color at Nasa in the 1950s ( Hidden
Figures); or
Grete Hermann, who in the 1930s found a flaw in the great mathematician
John von Neumann's proof for quantum physics yet whose finding was
ignored. Consider Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who in 1912 devised the method
of calculating the distances of stars yet was prohibited, as a female,
from operating the Harvard Observatory's telescopes. Her vital
contribution to astronomy, of course, went unrecognized. Also, consider
Elizebeth Smith Friedman, who, along with her husband William, pioneered
modern-day cryptology, playing a major role in winning World War II. Her
work went unrecognized for decades.
* Some questions from
LitLovers.
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