1. What role does memory play in A Letter From an Unknown Woman
and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the role of the past, the effects of
nostalgia, memory and confession, the faultiness of memory itself,
etc.
2. What role does love play in A Letter From an Unknown Woman and
one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the pain of lost love, young/naive love,
the power of first love, the nature of devotion, lust vs. love, the links
between love and cruelty, etc.
3. What role does class play in A Letter From an Unknown Woman and
one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the gap between rich and poor, the
impact of of economic destitution, the frivolity of wealth, etc.
4. What is the function of story-telling in A Letter From an Unknown
Woman and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends?
Possible angles to consider would be the use of letters, the links made
between memory and fiction, stories within stories, the “storyteller”
figure, the concern over capturing the real vs. imagining a fiction, etc.
5. What is the role of accident and/or coincidence in A Letter From an
Unknown Woman and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To
what ends? Possible angles to consider would be chance meetings,
mistaken identities, false impressions, missed opportunities, etc.
and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the role of the past, the effects of
nostalgia, memory and confession, the faultiness of memory itself,
etc.
2. What role does love play in A Letter From an Unknown Woman and
one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the pain of lost love, young/naive love,
the power of first love, the nature of devotion, lust vs. love, the links
between love and cruelty, etc.
3. What role does class play in A Letter From an Unknown Woman and
one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends? Possible
angles to consider would be the gap between rich and poor, the
impact of of economic destitution, the frivolity of wealth, etc.
4. What is the function of story-telling in A Letter From an Unknown
Woman and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To what ends?
Possible angles to consider would be the use of letters, the links made
between memory and fiction, stories within stories, the “storyteller”
figure, the concern over capturing the real vs. imagining a fiction, etc.
5. What is the role of accident and/or coincidence in A Letter From an
Unknown Woman and one of the other short stories by Zweig? To
what ends? Possible angles to consider would be chance meetings,
mistaken identities, false impressions, missed opportunities, etc.
6. What connections are made between the past and the present in A
Letter From an Unknown Woman and one of the other short stories by
Zweig? To what ends? Possible angles to consider would be
learning about the past only after it is past, failing to understand the
past, trying to rectify the problems of the past, the loss of innocence
that comes with the acquiring of experience, etc.
7. Discuss the role of revelation, both its presence and its absence, in A
Letter From an Unknown Woman and Fantastic Night. The former
withholds any real revelation, or at least it teases the reader with its
possibility; the latter contains a moment of true revelation, even of
epiphany, only to have the impact of this revelation be horribly and
ironically overturned.
8. Discuss the role of World War I in two of the stories by Zweig. How
does the war impact the plot and the characters of the stories? To
what ends?
Letter From an Unknown Woman and one of the other short stories by
Zweig? To what ends? Possible angles to consider would be
learning about the past only after it is past, failing to understand the
past, trying to rectify the problems of the past, the loss of innocence
that comes with the acquiring of experience, etc.
7. Discuss the role of revelation, both its presence and its absence, in A
Letter From an Unknown Woman and Fantastic Night. The former
withholds any real revelation, or at least it teases the reader with its
possibility; the latter contains a moment of true revelation, even of
epiphany, only to have the impact of this revelation be horribly and
ironically overturned.
8. Discuss the role of World War I in two of the stories by Zweig. How
does the war impact the plot and the characters of the stories? To
what ends?