Elektra Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Electra Complex and our BookBrowse Review of Elektra.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. In the novel's epigraph, taken from Sophocles' play, Elektra vows to seek revenge: "For if the hapless dead is to lie in dust and nothingness, while the slayers pay not with blood for blood, all regard for man, all fear of heaven, will vanish from the earth" (p. v). What do her words mean to you? What tone do they set for the story to come?
2. The novel is alternately narrated by Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra. Did you have a favorite narrator? If so, why? Why do you think the author chose to include all three perspectives, especially since the title is Elektra?
3. Once Helen leaves with Paris for Troy, Clytemnestra realizes she had misunderstood Helen's suitors: "I had believed they were there because they loved her, but I had been wrong. They hated her. They hated her because she was so beautiful and because she made them want her so much. Nothing brought them more joy than the fall of a lovely woman. They picked over her reputation like vultures, scavenging for every scrap of flesh they could devour" (p. 72). What does she mean? Do you agree? How might Clytemnestra's view of men continue to resonate in our own time?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Flatiron Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.