The Story Collector

Both Sarah and Anna begin their narrative arcs in a state of crisis. Compare and contrast their respective journeys toward healing and self-discovery. Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.

Woods integrates supernatural elements into a work of literary fiction. Analyze how the novel uses folkloric interventions, such as the swarm of bees that attacks George Hawley or Hazel’s dreams of her mother, to explore themes of justice and healing in ways a purely realistic narrative could not.

The changeling motif is used to explain everything from Lady Hawley’s post-partum depression to the Hawley twins’ cruelty. Explore how the novel complicates this folkloric concept, using it as a lens to examine both supernatural evil and the psychological horrors of human nature within the class tensions of Edwardian Ireland.

The novel presents multiple forms of storytelling, including academic records and research, personal diary, oral history, and visual art. Analyze these different narrative modes. What does the novel suggest about what makes a story powerful, true, or healing?

What rhetorical devices or literary techniques does Woods use to depict key locations in The Story Collector—such as Thornwood House, Butler’s Cottage, and Cnoc na Sí—as active repositories of memory and supernatural energy that influence the plot?

Beyond their roles as antagonists, George and Olivia Hawley can be viewed as the final, decaying products of the Protestant Ascendancy of this period in Irish history. Using evidence from the text, analyze how their isolation, entitlement, and cruelty reflect the moral bankruptcy of their social class.

Compare and contrast Anna’s supernatural protection from George’s assault and Harold’s politically motivated rescue. How does each event contribute to the novel’s thematic interest in The Interplay Between Fate and Personal Agency?

Physical artifacts like Anna’s diary and Harold’s published book serve as narrative links between the novel’s two timelines. How does their symbolism evolve as the novel progresses, developing the novel’s thematic exploration of The Lingering Influence of the Past on the Present?