Amongst Women - John McGahern
An interesting newspaper article on McGahern's novel - www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/27/robert-mccrum-100-greatest-novels-amongst-women-john-mcgahern
'Goodbye Again, Dark Love', New York Times review - www.nytimes.com/1990/09/09/books/goodbye-again-dark-love.html
Questions for discussion
• ‘Though he had lived for weeks for this hour he now felt a wild surge of resentment towards McQuaid as he came into his own house’ (page 11). What is the significance of the relationship between Moran and McQuaid? How important has his role in the IRA been in forming Moran’s character, and his attitude towards his children?
• ‘On this his wedding day he seemed strangely at peace. It was as if he needed this quality of attention to be fixed upon him in order to be completely silent’ (page 45). What kind of man is Moran? Why has he chosen to set himself apart from the small community in which the family lives?
• ‘They say he’s one sort of person when he’s out in the open among people – he can be very sweet – but that he’s a different sort of person altogether behind the walls of his own house’ (page 24). Rose’s mother repeatedly warns her against marrying Moran. Why is she so desperate to do so, despite his apparent reluctance? What sort of marriage do they share? How is Rose changed by it?
• How does Moran feel about his daughters? How do they feel about him? Why are they continually drawn back to Great Meadow despite the difficulties of their relationship with him? How do the dynamics of the Moran household change when the sisters leave?
• ‘Sheila met his laughter with a withering stare. He might be allowed through her into the family but it did not mean that he belonged. No outsider was allowed to laugh at anything so sacrosanct as the family’ (page 123). What does the family mean to each of the Morans?
• What has provoked Luke’s departure from Great Meadow? How does his absence affect the rest of the family? To what extent are things resolved between father and son? Why has Michael not followed in his footsteps?
• ‘. . . as they left him under the yew, it was as if each of them in their different ways had become Daddy’ (page 183). How is each of the daughters like her father? Why did he become afraid of them before his death?
• What part does religion play in the novel?
• How would you describe the style and tone of McGahern’s prose?
'Goodbye Again, Dark Love', New York Times review - www.nytimes.com/1990/09/09/books/goodbye-again-dark-love.html
Questions for discussion
• ‘Though he had lived for weeks for this hour he now felt a wild surge of resentment towards McQuaid as he came into his own house’ (page 11). What is the significance of the relationship between Moran and McQuaid? How important has his role in the IRA been in forming Moran’s character, and his attitude towards his children?
• ‘On this his wedding day he seemed strangely at peace. It was as if he needed this quality of attention to be fixed upon him in order to be completely silent’ (page 45). What kind of man is Moran? Why has he chosen to set himself apart from the small community in which the family lives?
• ‘They say he’s one sort of person when he’s out in the open among people – he can be very sweet – but that he’s a different sort of person altogether behind the walls of his own house’ (page 24). Rose’s mother repeatedly warns her against marrying Moran. Why is she so desperate to do so, despite his apparent reluctance? What sort of marriage do they share? How is Rose changed by it?
• How does Moran feel about his daughters? How do they feel about him? Why are they continually drawn back to Great Meadow despite the difficulties of their relationship with him? How do the dynamics of the Moran household change when the sisters leave?
• ‘Sheila met his laughter with a withering stare. He might be allowed through her into the family but it did not mean that he belonged. No outsider was allowed to laugh at anything so sacrosanct as the family’ (page 123). What does the family mean to each of the Morans?
• What has provoked Luke’s departure from Great Meadow? How does his absence affect the rest of the family? To what extent are things resolved between father and son? Why has Michael not followed in his footsteps?
• ‘. . . as they left him under the yew, it was as if each of them in their different ways had become Daddy’ (page 183). How is each of the daughters like her father? Why did he become afraid of them before his death?
• What part does religion play in the novel?
• How would you describe the style and tone of McGahern’s prose?
