by Sonia Taitz
3.Abigail’s decision to keep her baby is a very personal one. What would you have done in her situation and why?
4.Abigail is self-conscious about the lush curliness of her hair as well as the curviness of her body (which becomes only more pronounced in pregnancy). She thinks they conflict with a professional, corporate image. Have you experienced shame about your appearance and its supposed contrast with how you are “supposed” to look?
5.To what extent is it possible to say, as Abigail says to Mr. Fudim, that having a child will not change her work life? Should employers expect women (or men) to say this?
6.Tim rescues Abigail from a fall on the street, then takes care of her in other, more interesting ways. What thoughts come to mind when a character enters a story as a “knight in shining armor”?
7.Abigail is determined not to be “just” a housewife like her mother. Does she lose anything in the act of running away from the traditional feminine role?
8.As the novel progresses, a legal mystery unfolds that suggests corruption in Abigail’s firm. Do you think she is right to challenge the status quo?
9.Which male archetype do you find more appealingthe boyish Tim or the experienced Richard? Does your perspective shift throughout the novel?
10.Abigail feels many conflicts with regard to her child’s nanny, Arlie. Arlie, too, walks a challenging path as her employee. In the course of their power struggle, what separates these two women, and what unites them?
11.Evelyn MacAdam, the dowager of Grenada, enters the novel as something of a comic character. At the same time, she is a formidable legal opponent. What role does she play in Abigail’s professional, emotional, and ethical development?
12.What does the title Great With Child mean to you?
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SONIA TAITZ is a playwright, essayist, and author of three novels and two works of nonfiction. An award-winning writer and Yale-trained lawyer, her work has been praised in The New York Times Book Review, the Chicago Tribune, People, Vanity Fair, and many other publications. She is also the mother of three children, who are now all taller than she is.
