The death of their father impacts each of the Burgess children in different ways. Compare how each of them has been impacted by the accident and how each one handled it as they aged.

How do the characters Helen, Susan, and Barabara present different models of motherhood? How do their approaches to motherhood contrast, and what do these differences reveal about social expectations around this role?

What does the novel suggest about the importance of fathers? What parallels exist between the characters regarding the impact that their own fathers (or lack thereof) have had on their lives?