59 pages • 1 hour read
Jennifer RyanThe Wedding Dress Sewing Circle: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A 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
Compare and contrast the expectations placed on men and women in the text. How do these differing expectations contribute to the novel’s portrayal of gender roles?
Analyze the Inc-Soc Utility Clothes fashion competition and its meaning for both Cressida and Grace. How does the competition contribute to the theme of Pursuing Happiness and Throwing Off Expectations?
Over the course of the novel, several characters reflect on how marriage and love have changed due to the war. How does the novel represent wartime romance? Does the novel suggest that such changes are positive or negative, and why?
How does the novel represent the importance of local community support versus larger-scale political and military service? How do different contributions to the war effort shape the theme of Resilience in the Face of Great Difficulty?
When Hugh presents Grace with his mother’s wedding veil, they discover that it matches the wedding dress Grace inherited from her mother. What does this discovery reveal? How does it complicate or expand the symbolism of the wedding dress?
What does the “Make Do and Mend” initiative symbolize in the novel? How does it relate to the major themes of the novel?
How does the novel represent the role of women in Britain’s survival and success during World War II? Analyze specific examples from the text in your response.
The Sewing Circle values traditional wedding dresses, but the characters reject other traditions, like marrying within one’s class. What do these varying relationships to tradition reveal about the tension between preserving cultural heritage and embracing social change? How is this tension complicated by the novel’s wartime setting?
Consider the relationship between the British Violet and the American Lieutenant MacCauley. How do their cultural differences affect the narrative? What does the novel suggest is the importance of American support in World War II?
Analyze how the setting of Aldhurst Manor impacts characterization. For example, how does Cressida’s reaction to returning to Aldhurst support her characterization? What does Astrid’s desire to renovate the manor suggest about her character? What do the lake and island on the estate symbolize about Grace and Hugh’s relationship?
