The Scent Keeper

The novel uses the template of a fairy tale to begin Emmeline’s coming of age narrative. Research the psychological impact of fairy tales. How do the elements of a traditional fairy tale—a child living in a remote and magical woods, the idea of love at first sight, or the idea of wicked and threatening parents—help shape Emmeline’s education?

Research the psychology of first love. How does the decision to commit to a relationship with someone else measure the emotional growth out of childhood?

Review the chapters in which John Hartfell’s machine, the Nightingale, is described. How is the machine developed as a tantalizing fantasy that, in the end, defies and dismisses the human factor involved in memories? Is the machine evil?

Define Victoria Wingate. In what ways is her life a testimony to an empowered woman who, at all costs, succeeds in a business world still dominated by men? What does Emmeline need in a mother? What does she reveal in the bar scene at the end of the novel?

One of the turning point moments in any child’s transition into adulthood is the experience of death. Emmeline experiences at least two critical deaths: first, her goat being killed by the rogue bear; then, her father’s leap into the sea. How does Emmeline handle each death? How does she evolve emotionally?

What do the Prologue and the Epilogue contribute to the novel? The novel is a story told by Emmeline, confessing to her unborn child the sorrows and joys of her most imperfect life. Without those two chapters, how would the book be different?

One of the critical and most disturbing subplots involves Fisher’s abusive father. Research the impact of physical abuse on a child. Reflect on how Fisher’s upbringing contributes to his personality as an adult. Why does he put himself in positions of risk to protect a woman in peril? In what ways are Emmeline’s parents emotionally abusive to her?

Given that language itself was invented to allow people to share their experiences, opinions, and ideas with each other, what motivates the need to keep secrets? Use John’s secrets he keeps from his daughter, Victoria’s secrets she keeps from her daughter, and ultimately Emmeline’s decision to keep a secret from Fisher. Are there good reasons to keep some things secret? Is complete honesty a reasonable goal in relationships?