The Burning Time
by Robin Morgan
Questions for Discussion
- Alyce Kyteler is a noblewoman, teacher, and healer. Why is it important that she is the sole owner of her estate? How would the story be different if her husband still lived with her?
- Richard de Ledrede explains his beliefs to Alyce by saying: “I have faith in the Church. God . . . God is an argument.” How does his perspective on religion compare to Alyce’s belief in The Old Ways? At the end of the story, does de Ledrede still believe that God and the Church are separate entities? And what happens to Alyce’s trust in The Old Ways?
- Are Richard de Ledrede and Alyce Kyteler alike in some ways? How are they different? Do you think it would have been possible for them to compromise? If so, how?
- How are the Sabbats of The Old Ways similar to holidays that are celebrated today such as Thanksgiving? In the description of the Sabbats, do you see any similarities to religious rituals practiced today?
- How is Alyce’s relationship with her son, Will, symbolic of the relationships throughout the novel?
- Would you consider Father Brendan Canice (Sean Fergus) to be a main character in the story? What do you think ultimately happened to him?
- Petronilla de Meath’s religious struggle is a key point in the novel. Discuss the ways Petronilla feels bound to the Church as well as to Alyce and The Old Ways and how Petronilla’s actions illuminate the themes of the novel.
- Alyce says to Father Brendan: “This much I know: almost no one committing evil believes he is committing evil… at heart even the worst villain wishes to do good.” Do you agree? How is “evil” defined by various characters in The Burning Time? Could you interpret that the “villains” of the story wish to do good?
- Discuss the distinctions of class in the novel, from the serf to the nobleperson, and how each is portrayed. For example, why does de Ledrede think it is wrong for Alyce to teach her serfs to read? What is the significance of de Ledrede coming from a family of merchants? Why does Alyce tell her son he must “wed someone of his station”? How does class contribute to the events that lead up to the inquisition depicted in the The Burning Time?
- Teaching is a theme in the book, from de Ledrede’s efforts to teach the peasants that the Church is the only valid religion to Alyce’s teaching of the Old Ways to Petronilla. But in what ways do the teachers become the students? Who ends up learning the most important lessons?
- Strong women are found throughout The Burning Time: Alyce Kyteler, Petronilla de Meath, Helena Galrussyn, Annota Lange, and Sara Basilia de Meath. Compare their actions and characteristics to that of the men in the story. Do you feel that women and men are both fully portrayed? Why or why not?
- Toward the end of the novel, Helena describes to Alyce how the members of the Covenstead have fared since The Burning Time. Do these description remind you of the fate of people in other historical times?
- “That night I lost my faith in everything else I had been foolish enough to build my life on. The sole order I could recognize was disorder. The sole promise I could trust was death.” Alyce tells Helena this about the night she fled Kilkenny and Kyteler Castle. Why is Alyce’s experience important to the story? What has she had to face in order to survive?
- Why does the novel end with Sara Basilia de Meath’s perspective? How would the novel have been different had it been narrated by Alyce? Or if the book’s narrator had remained mysterious?
- The Burning Time is based on real people and real incidents. Do you think that setting these happenings in a fictional narrative adds to the understanding of the historical events? What makes a novel like this different from one where an author is inspired by a real person, but doesn’t use real events in the narrative
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