45 pages • 1 hour read
Bess Streeter AldrichA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Compare and contrast A Lantern in Her Hand to another work of pioneer literature centering on women’s experiences, such as a novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder or Willa Cather. In what ways are they similar and different? Do their protagonists have the same values and learn the same life lessons as Abbie Deal?
Compare and contrast A Lantern in Her Hand to another work of pioneer literature centering on male characters’ experiences, such as The Deerslayer by James Fennimore Cooper. In what ways are they similar and different? Do their protagonists have the same values and learn the same life lessons as Abbie?
The novel portrays mothers as limitless sources of emotional and physical care to those around them. How is this idea complicated and/or supported by more contemporary views on motherhood?
What commentary does the novel make on class distinctions? Does it distinguish between those who earn their wealth and those who inherit it? Provide examples of each type of character in the novel and discuss how they are portrayed.
The Civil War occurs at a formative time in Abbie’s life. How does the war affect her? Does it change her views on life and how she perceives her future? Use examples from the text in your response.
As Abbie gets older, her children want her to move out of her big farmhouse. Why does Abbie consistently refuse to move? What does this say about the house as a symbol of a larger message? Do you agree with Abbie, or with her children? Why?
How does the novel portray Indigenous people? Are they the threat Abbie believes them to be? Why or why not?
Abbie is a witness to history. She lives a long life at an important time in America’s development. How much does the country as a whole change throughout her lifetime? What insights do these changes bring to the novel’s message about the importance of pioneering?
What is Abbie’s relationship with death? How does Aldrich subvert that relationship when Abbie herself goes through death?
What aspects of the novel does Aldrich draw on from her own life? What details does she change or omit in her fictionalized account of her experiences and why?