The Only Woman in the Room

Hedy must wear multiple masks to achieve her goals because of the anti-feminist and anti-Semitic culture she lives in. How does this reflect the political issues of the 1940s? How are the problems she faces still relevant today?

Consider the metaphor of acting; how does the novel employ this metaphor to represent the major themes of the text? What similarities does performativity share with political machinations? 

As a work of historical fiction, the novel draws upon real events to craft fictional scenes. Choose one event and compare the novel’s depiction of it to how the event was described in papers or textbooks. Analyze the differences and explain the similarities.