Absolution

Analyze the narrative structure of the novel. How does the novel’s structure help to illuminate important aspects of characterization and/or some of its key themes and ideas?

What aspects of white saviorism does Charlene embody, and which does she subvert? What does the novel suggest about the nature of white saviorism and its broader impacts?

The novel’s title, Absolution, refers to forgiveness or exoneration. What are Tricia and Charlene seeking absolution from? How do different characters conceive of absolution and what it means to achieve it?

Examine conceptions of femininity and motherhood in the novel. How do Tricia, Charlene, and/or Stella conform to these expectations or challenge them? How does the novel examine the links between femininity and forms of agency?

Compare the characters of Charlene and Tricia. What key similarities and differences do they share? How do their approaches to altruism differ, and what influences their attitudes?

Absolution examines two marriages in detail, Peter and Tricia’s and Charlene and Kent’s. What do these relationships reveal about gender dynamics in the 1960s? How do women’s experiences in Vietnam differ from those of the male characters?

Much of the narrative is described in retrospect, with the older Tricia reflecting on her experiences from decades earlier. How does the novel explore the nature of memory and hindsight? In what ways, if any, does the older Tricia differ from her younger self?

Absolution often hints at the wide cultural gulf between the Americans and the country of Vietnam they are operating in. In what ways do the American characters misinterpret the history and culture of the Vietnamese? How do these misinterpretations illuminate the novel’s concern with colonialism and its ongoing legacy?