One Sunday Morning: Discussion I

1. The book opens with the scene in which the girls see Lizzie Carswell from a window. This scene is then repeated a few pages later as it happens in the narrative. This passage then ends the book as well. How does the effect of the passage change each time it appears? What is the effect of this repetition on the reader?
   
   
2. At the time, Mary wonders if what they've observed would have seemed quite so important if Betsy Owen had not commented on it. In what ways does Betsy's comment serve to give a meaning to the scene of Lizzie leaving the hotel? Why are Lizzie's actions important to her?
   
   
3. This story takes place during the years of Prohibition, and yet it also shows how free the times were for young people of a certain class, with speakeasies and plenty of alcohol and drugs, and a tolerance of transgressive behavior. Does this set up a contradiction in the characters' lives? In what ways is this revealed?
   
   
4. What do you think it is that attracts Mary to Geoffrey Rice? What does this attraction reveal about her character?
   
   
5. Of all the women, Lucy Collins seems to be the one who most aggressively pursues exposing Billy and, yet, on a closer look, Lucy is also the one who has a secret. Does this seem a contradiction? Lucy, also, has made the most traditional choices of all, marrying young, etc., yet she has enormous conflict about the choices she has made and not pursuing other roads. Is this true for women today?