Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why is this story divided into five parts? Would you call it a short story or a novella? Why?
- The parrot in this story is famous; it even inspired a novel. But what's the point of the parrot?
- The story is focalized on Félicité so we get all her secret thoughts and dreams. How would it be different if the narrator focalized on Madame Aubain?
- "A Simple Heart" is an example of Realism. What aspects make it such a great specimen of the genre?
- The short story covers all of Félicité's adult life. Why does it condense her childhood into one paragraph and give so much space to her adulthood?