The Rose Bargain

How do Smith’s magical elements build on the real-world cultural restrictions and gender norms of Victorian England?

How does Smith portray magic itself as a form of gambling?

How does The Rose Bargain build upon the time-worn trope of the love triangle? Does the author conform to or subvert this overused convention of the romance genre? Support your answer with examples from the text.

Why does Smith withhold any concrete evidence of Greer’s death? How does this unresolved thread affect the novel’s conclusion?

Compare and contrast Ivy with Faith, who starts as her nemesis but ends up being her friend. What internal and external factors facilitate this crucial shift?

Examine the novel’s references to ballet and waltzes. How is each dance portrayed in the novel? What abstract concepts does each one exemplify?

Does Smith’s novel manage to fully critique the Societal Limitations on Victorian Women, or does the narrative merely perpetuate misogynistic stereotypes? Support your answer with examples from the text.

Compare Smith’s portrayal of the fae to that of other fantasy novels, such as Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series. How do the fae interact with humans in each of these fantasy worlds?