8. What role does Wolfie play in Robin and Linda’s relationship?
9. In what ways might Hearts be considered a feminist novel?
10. Linda’s dancing is the only thing she can do “without premeditation or fear.” She is physically graceful even when she’s socially awkward. Does Robin have a similar saving grace?
11. Did you feel as though the author had equal affection and regard for Linda and Robin? Did you sympathize or identify with one more than the other? How does your own status as parent or child affect your attitude toward the characters?
12. Robin has fantasies about her missing mother. What role do these dreams play for Robin? How does Linda help her to cope with her shattered illusions? And how does Linda use fantasy to deal with her own disappointments and losses?
13. Is Robin really “cured” of her longing for her mother by their failed reunion, or is she simply unable now to deny the reality of her abandonment? Does she carry another, unspoken, even unconscious fantasy about forming a new family with Linda? If so, what part does the news of Linda’s pregnancy play? How do you envision the future for Linda and Robin and the baby?
Hearts Page 29
