1. Does the intense use of regional details limit the universality of the novel?

2. For what reasons does Paul not give up on his wife when many other men would have walked away?

3. Does Colette dislike her husband as much as she thinks she does?

4. What is the thematic function of the Larousse twins?

5. What part does religion play in the action of this novel?

6. Which characters do you feel alien to in the beginning that you warm up to toward the end?

7. What does each main character give up by the end of the novel? What do they get in return?

8. Explain the metaphor of dancing as it relates to the novel as a whole.