The story begins and ends with a dream that the narrator has about her mother. Why do you think that the story is framed in this way, and how does it help you to understand the story?

The narrator and her mother interpret the story of the Grieves sisters very differently. How do their different interpretations show the generational differences between the two of them?

How do you understand the character of Robert Deal, and his role in the story? Why do you think that he is so absent in the mother’s telling of the story? Why is the narrator so curious about him?