A Russian Beauty Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. How would "A Russian Beauty" be different if it was a full-length novel instead of a short story? What about a play? A movie?
  2. Why does Olga have to die at the end of the story? How would the story be different if she survived and returned to Russia?
  3. Why do you think that the narrator in "A Russian Beauty" skips over certain parts of Olga's life? What would change if they were included?
  4. Why are the majority of the characters in "A Russian Beauty" lacking in character development? How could we learn more about them? What would change if they became fully fleshed characters?
  5. The title of "A Russian Beauty" focuses on Olga's beauty. What if she were ugly instead? How would that change the story? What if instead of being a woman, she was a man? Does that make a difference?