Violeta

Examine Violeta’s relationship with her mother against the one she has with her daughter. Are there any repeating patterns? What learnings does Violeta take from her connection with her mother, and how does she apply them to her relationship with Nieves?

Josephine Taylor and the Rivases are essential to laying a foundation of open-mindedness in Violeta at a very early age. How do they do so? How does this become essential to Violeta’s life over the years?

Illustrate how Violeta evolves and grows over the course of her different romantic relationships, using examples from the text. What central theme of the book does this journey speak to?

One of the central themes in Violeta is the intersection of the political and the personal. How does this extend to the feminist ideas and women’s issues explored in the book? How are Violeta’s personal experiences, and those of the women around her, impacted by the politics and ideologies that surround the women?

Violeta is surrounded by strong and impactful women throughout her life. How does Allende portray these women as unconventional and progressive, while keeping them realistic and a product of their times?

Examine Camilo’s character. What role does he play in Violeta’s life, and in the larger scheme of the story? How are his life and worldview similar to or dissimilar from Violeta’s? What ideas do you think Allende is attempting to present by Camilo’s unexpected embracing of religion as his life’s vocation?

Consider the titles of the four parts of the book. Is there irony in any of the titles? What do they each refer to in Violeta’s life, beyond the obvious events or incidents they respectively allude to?

South American politics is a recurring theme across many of Allende’s works. How does Violeta carry on this tradition? What different historical and political events of the continent are explored in the book, and how does Allende establish the identity of Violeta’s unnamed country?