Duplicity
7.25 A resolution should not deal with more than one subject…Disregard of this rule usually leads to confused discussion and may lead to confused action…
Charles Arnold-Baker
Local Council Administration
Seventh Edition
Here are some questions to get you started on the discussion:
- How do you like the book so far?
- Do you think Nana Cath could or should have done more for Terri?
- What do you think Krystal is going to do now that she’s lost Nana Cath?
- Why do you think Kay takes such an interest in the Weedon family and the Fields?
- Why do you think Barry Fairbrother took such an interest in Krystal?
- Why do you think Parminder is so disparaging of Sukhvinder?
- What are your theories on Sukhvinder’s Ghost_of_Barry_Fairbrother post?
- Do you feel that Krystal’s rape was necessary to the plot or towards her development as a character?
- What do you think is going to happen next?
Feel free to answer as few or as many of these questions as you want, and feel free to ask your own questions in your response.
I liked Part 3 more than the earlier parts, maybe because there was less political drama & more focus on personal characters and relationships.
-Nana Cath undoubtedly did a lot for Terri. It was very kind of her to go to Terri in the hospital and take her home with her, but part of me feels like she could (and should) have tried harder to get custody of Terri as a child. Based on the fact that T was in the hospital because her father threw a pan of hot oil at her, it seems like Nana C would have had a pretty good argument for obtaining legal custody. I’m sure she was afraid of how angry that would have made Terri’s father, though. She could have filed for a restraining order of some sort, but who knows how much good that would have done. The man didn’t have a problem giving an old woman a black eye, he would probably do worse if she took Terri away legally, regardless of a restraining order.
-Well, Krystal’s formed herself a nice little plot to get pregnant with Fats’ child (that is, if she isn’t already pregnant from the rape) and get a house of her own. I can understand her fierce desire to be on her own with Robbie and her baby, in her own house where she can keep things clean and safe. However, I do not think that getting pregnant is the way to go about achieving that desire. It would only make things worse. I have a feeling she’s not actually going to go through with that plan, but I think with Nana Cath out of the picture, Krystal has lost her safety net and will have to either get her act together once & for all or really sink to rock bottom.
-I’m not sure why Kay’s so interested in the Weedon family and the Fields in general. I don’t know much about her early life (unless I missed some info somewhere) but I guess it’s possible that she grew up in a somewhat similar environment? I feel like that is unlikely, but could be an explanation. Or perhaps more likely, she wants to prove that she’s good at her job and is making a difference in someone’s life. She’s feeling so bad for moving to Pagford just for Gavin, she probably feels that it might be worth it if she can manage to turn Terri’s life around. Then she can tell herself that it wasn’t all a waste, she actually made someone’s life better.
-My guess is that Barry was interested in Krystal because he grew up in a similar environment. He knew what it was like to struggle and be an outcast as a child, and he wants to help Krystal because he sees her as kind of a kindred spirit. Something tells me that there’s more to it than that though. I’m very curious as to what Colin Walls’ connection to Krystal is. There was a scene in which a reporter contacted Colin and wanted to talk about Krystal. A line in italics reads, “Had he touched her?” I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a question the reporter asked him or Colin himself thinking this. Seems weird if the reporter was asking that question, but even weirder to think that Colin wouldn’t know whether or not he’d done something like that. He’s described as a pretty paranoid person so maybe it’s just reflecting his anxiety and intense paranoia, jumping right to the notion that Krystal had accused him of abusing her & that’s why the reporter was calling.
-Poor Sukhvinder!! I was so angry at Parminder during the scene in which she was yelling at S for trying to truant. She wouldn’t even listen to her – S must have been so frustrated. Maybe Parminder’s so hard on S b/c she was the same way as a child & was treated the same way by HER parents? If that was the case, though, it seems like Parminder should remember how it made her feel and treat Sukhvinder a bit nicer. Or it could be that she just expects high achievement from her children b/c she sees it in her 2 older children and thinks that therefore S must be CAPABLE of high achieving, but just isn’t trying hard enough. Or maybe a combination of both factors. Either way, it’s so sad that Sukhvinder faces taunting & bullying at school and then goes home to a mother who makes her feel further ashamed of herself.
-No idea what Sukhvinder’s post was but am SO curious. Something about Parminder at a New Year’s Eve party? Am guessing she should not have been at the party. Honestly, my first thought was that Sukhvinder had seen her mom & Barry Fairbrother kissing or something – I just can’t shake the feeling that those two were something more than councilmates and friends. I suppose that’s my prevailing theory for now. 🙂
-I’m gonna say that Krystal’s rape was necessary to both the plot & her character development. It seems to have been the last straw, and will hopefully the catalyst for a change in her life. I’m sad it had to happen for her this way, but maybe it was her own personal rock bottom & the spark that will get her moving toward a better, cleaner, and safer life. I do hope she goes about getting to that life in a way other than getting herself pregnant, though.
-Next – Krystal tries to get knocked up! I am so curious as to how this will go down, or if she’ll come to her senses before actually trying to go through with that plan. I feel like an election must be coming up fairly soon, but there is still lots of book left, so we will see. 🙂
I felt the same way about Sukhvinder. I honestly got really mad at Parminder at this point. I just didn’t understand why she treated Sukhvinder this way because I thought of her character as someone who was nice in a way. I just took it as a shock. (also if none of this made sense it’s because it’s really late and my friend is not letting me sleep and forcing me to play magic with him ;_; )
Sukhvinder is my favorite character in the book (I always root for the underdog), so I was mad at Parminder too. I was also disappointed with P, because I had liked her quite a lot up until that, and then I just got so MAD at her. I like how real & human Rowling made all of these characters, none of them are perfect, they’ve all got these flaws (some more intense than others).
As to Kay, I think her whole interest in the Weedons & the Fields is more connected with her job and herself as a person. As in, I think she’s trying really hard to see the good in Terri and is trying to help Terri get to her feet for good. I see it almost as a way of “I want to actually HELP someone” because her whole relationship with Gavin (and I use the word ‘relationship’ loosely) is falling apart, and I don’t think her relationship with Gaia is the greatest, so I feel like Kay sort of is trying to make some form of relationship work out in a positive ending. Or maybe I’m reading too much into that, ha ha.
P.S. I LOVE reading your predictions as to what’s going to happen next.