Daughters & Sons

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child," exclaims William Shakespeare's King Lear. The fragility or strength of the bond between parents and their children is an eternally relevant theme in literature. In this study guide collection, we've put together texts that examine what it means to be a son or daughter.

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health, Society: War, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness, Military / War, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance


Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags Realistic Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Relationships, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, Asian Literature, American Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Chinese Literature, Classic Fiction

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989) follows the stories of four Chinese women who immigrate to America and their American-born daughters. This was Tan’s first novel, a highly-acclaimed New York Times best-seller and winner of the 1989 California Book Award for Fiction. It was adapted into a film in 1993 and was the first wide American film release with a predominantly Asian American cast.Plot SummaryThe Joy Luck Club is divided into four parts... Read The Joy Luck Club Summary


Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Colonialism

Tags African Literature, Gender / Feminism, Historical Fiction, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), African American Literature, Classic Fiction

The Joys of Motherhood (1979) is a historical fiction novel by Buchi Emecheta. Set in both rural and urban Nigerian locales over several decades, the novel explores changes in the roles and status of women against the backdrop of colonialism. It follows the life of Nnu Ego, a woman whose identity and self-worth are deeply intertwined with her role as a mother.This guide is based on the 1990 George Braziller edition of the text. It... Read The Joys of Motherhood Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Nation, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Korean Literature, Agriculture


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

The Lake House, a 2015 mystery novel by Australian author Kate Morton, centers on the mysterious disappearance of Theo Edevane, an 11-month-old baby who goes missing from his crib during a party in 1933. The devastated family members each have their own theories about who is responsible, but no one is more affected than his teenage sister, Alice. Seventy years later, Sadie Sparrow, an ambitious young detective, discovers the cold case while visiting her grandfather... Read The Lake House Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Education

Tags Historical Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Language

Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Italian Literature


Publication year 1850

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, French Literature, History: World

Among the most widely read and translated of all French authors, Alexandre Dumas lived and worked in the 19th century. A playwright, journalist, and travel writer, Dumas is likely best known for his historical fiction, much of which was initially published in serialized form. Along with The Count of Monte Cristo, his most enduring works are the three books that make up his D’Artagnan Romances: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de... Read The Man In The Iron Mask Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Historical Fiction, Jewish Literature, History: World, Magical Realism, Romance, Arts / Culture

Alice Hoffman’s 2015 novel, The Marriage of Opposites, is a work of historical fiction with magical realism and romance elements. The novel begins in the early 1800s and spans three generations of a Jewish family living on the island of St. Thomas after having fled the Inquisition in Europe. The novel follows a linear timeline and, told from different perspectives, creates a sweeping look at a historically significant moment in time. Hoffman based her tale... Read The Marriage Of Opposites Summary


Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Community

Tags Allegory / Fable / Parable, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Published in 1998, The Men of Brewster Place is a companion to Gloria Naylor’s acclaimed 1982 novel, The Women of Brewster Place. Written as a series of vignettes, the novel tells the intertwining stories of seven Black men living in Brewster Place, a degrading apartment block in an unnamed American city. Each must fight to define his identity as a man while existing within the confines of a racist, sexist society. With themes of pain... Read The Men of Brewster Place Summary


Publication year 1976

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags History: U.S., American Revolution, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World

The Minutemen and their World is a history of 18th-century Concord, a Massachusetts town located approximately twenty miles west of Boston. The town is famous for the Transcendentalist writers who produced their works there, but it is perhaps even more famous as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution, when the famed “shot heard round the world” was fired at the town’s North Bridge (xvi). The book’s author, Robert A. Gross, describes... Read The Minutemen and Their World Summary


Publication year 1668

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Class

Tags Play: Comedy / Satire, Classic Fiction, French Literature

The Miser, by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (better known by his stage name, Molière) was written in 1668 and was first performed at the theatre of the Palais-Royal in Paris on September 9th, 1668. The five-act play, which takes much of its inspiration from Plautus’ Latin comedy Aulularia (or The Pot of Gold), is a comedy centered on a penny-pinching old miser, Harpagon, who schemes to make more money by arranging marriages for himself and his two... Read The Miser Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance, Parenting


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Lisa Jewell’s mystery novel Then She Was Gone follows Laurel Mack in her search for answers regarding her daughter Ellie’s disappearance. Through a series of flashbacks and differing points of view, Jewell gradually unfolds the details of the past and looks inside the mind of the psychopath who kidnapped Ellie, all while chronicling the steps Laurel must take to heal from the sorrow that has consumed her.This novel was originally published in 2017, but this... Read Then She Was Gone Summary


Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers

Tags Psychology, Parenting, Science / Nature, Sociology, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Social Science, Psychology


Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Natural World: Environment, Life/Time: The Future

Tags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, American Literature, Southern Gothic, Classic Fiction

The Orchard Keeper is the 1965 debut novel of American author Cormac McCarthy. The story explores the relationship between a young boy and the man who killed the boy’s father; it explores themes of The Chaos of the Wilderness, Cyclical Violence, and The Encroachment of Modernity. The Orchard Keeper won a number of awards, while McCarthy’s later works would earn him a Pulitzer Prize. Other works by this author include No Country for Old Men... Read The Orchard Keeper Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, WWII / World War II, Military / War, French Literature, History: World


Publication year 1985

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Food, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Fate, Identity: Race, Identity: Language, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Teams

Tags Fairy Tale / Folklore, Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: U.S., African American Literature, Race / Racism