Dec 31, 2009

S. | Ideas for Group Discussions

Updike's satire of religious communes has attracted a fair amount of commentary, but the most controversial aspect of S., by far, is the female narrator. She is the Updike character whom feminist critics most love to hate. A less heated discussion, perhaps, may stem from questions about Updike's debt to Hawthorne.

1. What are the targets of Updike's religious satire? How is life at the Arizona commune a charade of spiritual enlightenment?

2. How is the comedy of the novel based upon the self-deception of the narrator? Does she remain a likable heroine despite her comic...