ILE ~ discussion questions ~ Part 1

Here are some DQs for Part 1 ~ The Benefit of Love:

1. How do Lucia’s early relationships shape the person she becomes? What does the Countess of Montereale give Lucia that her own mother cannot?

2. Lucia claims to have faith in self-delusion. She says, "Self-delusion has the benefit of letting us believe that everything is still possible. I have a talent for that" (p. 14). She also says, "Truth is more than the things you see; that is why its value is only relative. I am very careful with it" (p. 16). And she goes so far as to say, "The only thing that can change reality is the mind. ... If one would change things, one needn’t touch them; one need only see them differently" (p. 46). In what ways does Lucia delude herself? When does she choose the truth over self-delusion?

3. Lucia says of men, "Most aim to please with little understanding of our pleasure. ... More than anything, men want that which has been withheld. A happy certainty is no match for a mystery denied. Given a choice, a man will always take the unknown" (pp. 8–10). What is Lucia’s opinion about men?

4. Why did Giacomo change his name to Seingalt? (Toby's question)