56 pages • 1 hour read
Alasdair GrayPoor Things
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1992A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Poor Things is in some ways a retelling of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (See: Background). Compare and contrast the two works. Which themes do they have in common? What are their differences?
This novel is ambiguous about whether McCandless’s narrative or Victoria’s letter is telling the truth. What factors of perspective and motivation shape each narrative? How do the two narratives compare to one another?
Various characters express their political beliefs in Poor Things. Choose one of these political perspectives (e.g. Malthusiasm, capitalism, socialism, imperialism, etc.). How does this political perspective relate to the themes and characters of Poor Things? What is its wider significance in the text?
Watch the 2023 film adaptation of Poor Things. Consider the differences between the book and the movie. How do these changes impact the themes and characterization in the story?
How is the Victorian Era depicted in the novel? To what extent, if any, does Gray’s use of a historical time period allow him to explore themes and ideas relevant to the present day?
Throughout the book, Alasdair Gray includes many footnotes. What is the role and significance of the footnotes? How does their inclusion shape or influence the presentation and/or interpretation of the main narrative?
Several of the people mentioned in Poor Things are real, including William Strang, Ignaz Semmelweis, Hugh MacDiarmid, Sophia Jex-Blake, and Jean-Martin Charcot. How does Gray blend fact and fiction through these references to and inclusions of “real” people? How do they impact the narrative?
Analyze the gender dynamics in the novel. How are masculinity and femininity depicted? How does the novel examine gender roles, assumptions, and power dynamics?
The book’s final footnote introduces a lot of new information. Why does Gray describe Victoria’s pamphlet, A Loving Economy? How does his presentation of her ideas connect to the book’s themes and/or her characterization?
The novel plays with ideas of scientific and medical experimentation and progress. How do various characters conceive of the nature and purpose of such experimentation and its consequences? How does the novel’s exploration of science and medicine illuminate some of the novel’s key ideas?
