The Invisible Woman
Page 33
Q. The novel largely deals with war. Why did you choose to include the early days of Virginia and Paul’s love story?
A. First, I included it because it was true. Also, it overlapped with the end of Virginia’s mission and provided such relief from the intensity and isolation that it gave Virginia—and by extension, the reader—space to exhale at the end of a very dark journey. Finally, in our interviews, Lorna always came back to their love story. Lorna had great affection for Uncle Paul and felt he was a softening force in Virginia’s life—a true complement to her aunt. I wanted to honor him and the love he and Virginia shared.
Q. When you wrote about Ernest Hemingway in Hemingway’s Girl and Zelda Fitzgerald in Call Me Zelda, there was suddenly a boom in books on the subjects. Now Virginia Hall—and female spies of World War II in general—seems to have taken hold in other works of fiction and nonfiction, and in film. What do you make of this phenomenon?
A. I believe in the power of the collective unconscious, the interconnectedness of all of us through space and time. I believe these people from the past—these real people—reach out to us for recognition. Like ghosts, some seem unsettled and need redemption. Artists tuned into that space seem to pick up on the same frequencies. It’s a beautiful thing.
Q. What might we expect to see from you next?
A. I’ll continue to write stories about women so remarkable on their own they could launch a subgenre of husband-of-famous-woman books.
Questions for Discussion
What most moved you reading The Invisible Woman? Which character will stay with you the longest?
Identity is a central theme in The Invisible Woman. Discuss how Virginia changes as she moves through each part of her journey—from Artemis to Diane to la Madone to Virginia.
Virginia’s life would have been extraordinary on its own, but adding the fact that she had a prosthetic leg takes it to another level. Discuss what most struck you about her condition and how it made her more vulnerable in some ways and stronger in others.
In wartime, to advance their causes, soldiers, spies, and resistors sometimes engage in unsavory practices or behaviors that would be considered immoral under normal circumstances. Which of Virginia’s or her associates’ actions disturbed you? Did the ends justify the means?
Even decades after the war, Virginia Hall would not grant interviews. Not only was she still operative in the CIA, but she said she’d seen too many people die for talking. Similarly, the villagers of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon did not wish for any special recognition. They thought they were simply doing their Christian duty. Discuss whether you think Virginia and the villagers would give their blessing to this book and other works about their contributions to the war.
In Robuck’s research on Virginia’s personality changes over the years, and in speaking with veterans of war, post-traumatic stress rose as a central theme. Though contemporary understanding has greatly evolved since Virginia’s time, it’s still a major problem. Discuss how PTS—its effects and instances of healing—is shown in the novel.
What roles do the statue of Our Lady of Le Puy and references to la Madone play in the novel? Why do you think Robuck included them?
The women in the novel are very different from one another, but all show their own kinds of strength. Discuss the women most important to the story and how they contributed to the Resistance in their own ways.
At the beginning of the novel, reinforcing SOE/OSS training, Vera Atkins directs Virginia not to get attached to those in her network. How does Virginia obey and disobey this order? How does this help and hinder her efforts on both a personal and a global level?
What will you take away from having read The Invisible Woman? What aspects will resonate and linger for you?
Photo by Catsh Photography LLC
Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of Receive Me Falling, Hemingway’s Girl, Call Me Zelda, Fallen Beauty, and The House of Hawthorne. She is a contributor to the anthology Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion and to the Writer’s Digest essay collection Author in Progress. Robuck lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.
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