Why did Meyer choose to narrate the story from a third-person limited point of view as opposed to a first-person perspective? What impact does this slightly more distanced vantage point have on the reader’s experience of Cath?

How is happiness defined in the novel? Is it true joy and passion, like Cath finds in her baking or with Jest? Or blissful ignorance, like the King embodies? Discuss how the pursuit of happiness drives different characters’ choices in the narrative.

Discuss the concept of good and evil in the novel. Who is the villain, and why? Who is the hero, and why?