The Mothers

How does the Mothers’ narrative voice claim authority over Nadia’s private experience? How does it consciously or unconsciously undermine that authority?

How does Bennett use injuries to the body—including Luke’s injured leg and Robert’s accident—as a recurring motif to symbolize emotional or psychological injuries? How do physical injuries and the characters’ responses to them serve as catalysts for confronting hidden psychological traumas?

Beyond their contrasting views of motherhood, to what degree is the friendship between Nadia and Aubrey founded on mutual misperceptions? When do they fail to understand each other, and what psychological obstacles impede this understanding?