How do Shirah’s daughters react to the intimate friendship that develops between Yael and their mother? Is Shirah a good mother or not?ħ. How do spells function in the novel? What is the relationship between Shirah’s Jewish beliefs and her witchcraft? If you have read other Alice Hoffman novels that include mystical elements - such as Practical Magic or Fortune’s Daughter - how do they compare to The Dovekeepersand its use of magic?Ħ. Why do you think Alice Hoffman invented the figure of Wynn, “The Man from the North,” who comes to serve the women in the dovecote? In what ways does Wynn come to bring the women together? Compare Yael’s relationship with Ben Simon to her relationship with Wynn.ĥ. What did animals mean to the people of this ancient Jewish society, and what specific symbolic forms do they take in the novel?Ĥ. From Yael setting free the Romans’ lion, to Shirah’s childhood vision of a fish in the Nile, and, of course, the women’s care of the doves, animals are an important component in the book. What does she mean by that? Are there other relationships in the novel that could be described in the same way?ģ.

Yael describes her relationship with Ben Simon as “a destroying sort of love” (p. Which of these women did you find most appealing, and why?Ģ. The novel is split into four principal parts, with each of the main characters - Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah - narrating one section. Hoffman is painstakingly thorough, crafting detailed accounts of each woman’s life and infusing them with a timeless sensibility that resonates with a modern audience.ġ. Together, they struggle to leave the past behind and forge a new society. Her daughter, Aziza, was fathered by a warrior and raised as a boy, enabling her superlative skills as a rider and marksman. Shirah is an extraordinarily beautiful mystic, feared and revered for her healing powers. Revka, a sharp-tongued grandmother, is quietly reeling from the brutal murder of her daughter as she cares for her grandsons. Hoffman builds upon his ancient account, using it as a starting point to tell the stories of four women whose divergent paths brought them to Masada.Ĭhronicling the four years during and after the fall of Jerusalem, the novel opens with the tragic story of Yael, a redhead neglected and abused by her father, who never forgave her for her mother’s death in childbirth. Two women and five children survived the massacre, according to first-century Jewish historian Josephus.

It’s not easy to make characters living in 70 C.E., fighting the Romans on Masada, breathe on the page, but Alice Hoffman’s masterpiece succeeds.

The dovekeepers daughter