"A Dream of a Woman" by Casey Plett

"She leanred forward in the chiar. She thought of a generation of girls who might grow up strong and unbothered and untouched, healthy, beautiful, learned, and full of love, who could fall into adulthood knowing girlhood, girlhood in full, having the chance at normal kinds of pain, who would grow and grow and grow and grow and grow and grow and grow and grow and become oceans, gentle armies, thick with passed-down wisdowm and love."

Themes: Renewal; Mother/Daughter Relationship; Love; Becoming; Belonging; Self-Discovery

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you interpret the title of this short story collection, "A Dream of a Woman"? Does 'dream' refer to possibility or outside of reality?

2. The character Iris played a principal role in the "Obsolution" stories. How did you feel about her character? What purpose did she serve?

3. How did "Obsolution" work in conversation with the other stories? Why do you think Plett decided to intersperse sections of "Obsolution" throughout the collection instead of writing "Obsolution" as its own novel?

4. Mother-Daughter relationships are frequently explored throughout this collection. What do you think Plett meant when she discussed "made-good mothers"?

5. Did you find the stories to be interconnected (perhaps in theme, setting, lesson)? Why or why not?

6. What do you think about the titular reference in "Enough Trouble"? How does it relate to the other stories in this collection?

7. How does Plett establish the 2000s ambiance in the short stories?

8. Do you think the characters in these stories live in the same universe? Could they run into each other?