Bright Young Women

Pamela’s comment that she briefly thought the man fleeing from the house was Roger causes significant delay and misdirection in the investigation and trial. Why are people (including the police) so eager to believe that Roger was the attacker? Why do people tend to ignore Pamela’s realization that the man wasn’t Roger? How do Roger’s violent tendencies create complexity and challenges for Pamela during the investigation?

Why is Ruth so drawn to Tina? What qualities does Tina most embody, and how do they shape her relationships with both Ruth and Pamela? How did Tina’s own experiences of exploitation and trauma shape her and color how she views the experiences of other women?

Discuss the effect of the novel’s alternating storylines and nonchronological structure. Examine these devices in relation to heightening suspense, parallelism, and dramatic irony. Comment on subversion of the crime genre.

Pamela is consistently critical of the police and legal system, arguing that they mishandle many decisions related to The Defendant. Cite three examples of mistakes that police and law enforcement make in the novel. What factors motivate or exacerbate these errors? What does Pamela mean when she comments, “Sometimes I think it was machismo that killed Denise” (203)?

Pamela, Ruth, and Tina all have complex and difficult relationships with their mothers. In what ways do their relationships with their mothers shape these three characters? How does this impact their views on femininity and social norms? What other significant familial influences shape their views?

Pamela learns as an adult that she was abducted as a young child. Why do her parents withhold this information from her? What changes for Pamela when she learns this information about her past? How does it shape her understanding of closure, secrecy, and grief? Cite passages from the text to support your views.

How does the novel portray female excellence and ambition? Why is this theme central in the novel? What challenges and threats does the novel portray ambitious women as facing? Is Tina’s theory that The Defendant targeted ambitious and promising women persuasive? Why or why not?

The novel repeatedly critiques the true crime genre, especially its tendency to foreground and valorize killers. How does the novel subvert the genre? Is Bright Young Women a true crime novel? How does the novel’s depiction of Ted Bundy differ from other depictions? Does it succeed in telling a different kind of narrative about a well-known figure? Why or why not?