49 pages • 1 hour read
Liv ConstantineThe Last Mrs. Parrish
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Why do the authors use the third-person point of view when the narrative centers on Amber but the first-person point of view when it centers on Daphne? Why do the authors return to the third-person point of view in Part 3? What does this do for the overall story?
From the first pages of The Last Mrs. Parrish, it is clear that Amber has ulterior motives for interacting with Daphne. How do the authors foreshadow Amber’s deception?
While Jackson pretends to be the perfect husband, behind closed doors he is extremely abusive to his wife and daughters. Compare and contrast his public and private behaviors and how they escalate over time.
Daphne’s first-person narrative gives the reader a new vantage point on several of the novel’s key scenes. Compare and contrast those scenes from Amber’s perspective and Daphne’s. What does the reader learn? What is different from one perspective to the other?
Daphne and Amber both receive the title Mrs. Parrish. How are their journeys similar? How are they different? How does Jackson trick them both?
Describe the way that Daphne is confined to her own home. Why is this confinement invisible to outside observers?
What are the different types of love at work in this novel? Do the author’s suggest that some types of love are more genuine than others?
What are the main motivations of each of the main characters? How do these motivations interact?
What role does wealth play in the novel? Are there other forms of wealth besides money at play?
Education is emphasized many times throughout The Last Mrs. Parrish, both formal and informal. Discuss the different types of learning present in the novel. Who learns the most? How do they learn it?
