8. While Zabelle is framed by a historical tragedy, the book is also full of humor—Moses’ divine revelation about plastic surgery, the comic clash of cultures at Jack’s wedding, the funny conversations between Zabelle and Arsinee. How does humor function in the novel?
9. When Joy asks her mother, ‘Do you love Pa?’ (p. 208), Zabelle isn’t sure how to answer, thinking, ‘It was like asking the elbow if it loves the wrist.’ How does the relationship between Zabelle and Toros change over the years? How does it compare to the courtship between Zabelle’s parents described in the Epilogue?
10. The day before he dies, Toros confesses to Zabelle that he witnessed his father’s murder and did nothing to help him (p. 223). This is the first time he has spoken of his experiences in the Genocide, and Zabelle, too, has always remained silent about that chapter in her own life. Why did they never discuss this tragedy? How did it permeate the atmosphere of their home?
11. The epilogue—a tale of Hadjin—is written in the style of a fairytale. Rather than telling the story of Zabelle’s life, it returns to a previous generation to bring the story full circle. What does the epilogue tell the reader about the way of life that was lost because of the Genocide? How does Zabelle ‘live to remember and forget the tale’ (p. 237)? What does she remember and what does she forget?
AUTHOR STATEMENT:
I wrote Zabelle as a tribute to my grandmother, Mariam Kodjababian Kricorian, and to the Armenian women of her generation who were Genocide survivors, resourceful immigrant wives and mothers and the backbones of their families, churches, and communities, which were reconstituted in the New World. I also wanted to honor the memory of the lifelong friendship between my grandmother and Alice Kharibian, who had been with her in the desert. As we say in Armenian, Bidi hishenk. We will remember.
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