DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Portrait of an Unknown Woman |
1. The book begins with a
profound statement from Elie Wiesel about the power of “one person of
integrity.” How do you define integrity? Where do you see it in the
novel?
2. Consider the landscape of Cornwall where we first find Gabriel and
Chiara. What mood does it create? What does it suggest about Gabriel’s
mindset and condition?
3. When walking in Covent Garden Market, Gabriel notices the threat
because his “gnawing vigilance…forced him to make a mental charcoal
sketch of every passing face.” How might his artistic skills and
understanding aid him as an agent?
4. Late in the novel, Gabriel is described as a painter who possesses
“the meticulous draftsmanship of the Old Masters” and the “freedom of
the Impressionists.” Where do you see these opposing qualities in his
work with the agency?
5. While Madonna and Child with Mary Magdalene is a fictitious
painting by Titian, it is threaded throughout the novel. What does the
title and its various mentions add or suggest?
6. How would you describe the relationship between Gabriel and Chiara?
What does their intimate interaction add to the thrilling, tense subject
matter?
7. Consider the powerful and complex character of Nadia al-Bakari. How
does she represent the challenge and tension between the Middle East and
the West? What of her extensive experience helps explain her willingness
to forgive and even to help those who killed her father? What role does
art play in her life?
8. Just before Nadia’s important and dangerous meeting in a hotel
in Dubai, she speaks with Gabriel beneath a small metallic cloth tent to
protect them from surveillance. He refers to it as a chuppah, beneath which vows are taken in the Jewish
wedding ceremony. How is this significant to this moment in the novel?
What is the complex nature of the relationship between the two of them?
9. What do the many intelligent and powerful women in the novel add to
the exploration of equal rights and their suppression? Which woman is
the most compelling to you? Why?
10. Throughout the novel, we are introduced to various male
characters and their wives. What
is the overall effect of this? How does it connect to the larger theme
of gender equality that gets explored?
11. The modern media—both its nature and role in politics—is presented
and explored in the novel and even figures into the activities of the
various agencies. What are the pros and cons of such technologically
evolved, global journalism? To what extent is it or should it be an
element of politics? The military?
12. At one point Adrian Carter lashes out at the journalistic use of
“narrative,” and suggests that they should report “facts” while
novelists create narrative. What should be the limits of storytelling
(however factual) in news reporting? What is the role or responsibility
of the novelist to inform?
13. In what ways is “finint,” or financial intelligence, more valuable
or volatile than traditional human or signals sources?
14. What do the intense auction scenes at Christie’s bring to the novel?
15. Consider the extensively described desert landscapes. What moods do
they evoke? What do they add to any understanding of the political and
personal history of the regions? In what ways is it possible for such
barren land—even when a place of horrendous violence and suffering—to
seem beautiful?
16. When Gabriel mentions the surviving families of the tragedies in
Paris, Copenhagen, and London, Adrian Carter says, “That’s an emotional
response,” and “James McKenna doesn’t tolerate emotion when it comes to
talking about terrorism.” And yet Gabriel, Nadia, and Ali al-Masri have
powerful emotional interactions. What is an appropriate role of
emotional response and understanding of others in such a challenging
international climate?
17. When interrogating Gabriel and referring to his involvement despite
a supposed retirement, Kahlid says “your son has everything to do with
this.” In what ways is this true?
18. Lying is a necessary part of Gabriel’s work, but even he says to
only “lie as a last resort.” Outside the dangerous world of the spy,
what are proper criteria for deciding when to lie?
19. A number of times in the novel, an important agency maxim is stated:
“Hope is not an acceptable strategy when lives are at stake.” What is
the value of hope? When is it appropriate? |
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