Question of the Week (1)

[Jenna]

The Dearly Beloved opens with the scene of James grieving Charles’s death. In what ways does grief frame this novel? How do each of the characters respond to the feelings of abandonment that accompany grief? In whom or what do they choose to put their faith after loss? In whom or what do you put your faith in difficult times?

[Mansoor]

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[Heather]

Grief drives a great deal of the action in the novel. James' grief at what he sees in the world pushes him into ministry and pushing boundaries in the church, upsetting the congregation in the process. Lily has spent the majority of her life living in grief and has put up walls around herself in the process. For Nan, she has always had an easy and blessed life and she knows this. So when she is unable to conceive right away, she is hit with genuine grief and sorrow for maybe the first time.