The Shawl

Compare and contrast the amount of historical detail Ozick provides in “The Shawl” and “Rosa.” Why might Ozick provide relatively little information about time and place in the short story as opposed to the novella?

Discuss the ways in which fire imagery recurs throughout both “The Shawl” and “Rosa.” How does the motif evolve over the course of the work as a whole?

Both “The Shawl” and “Rosa” center on a missing piece of clothing: the shawl in the former, Rosa’s underwear in the latter. Discuss the relationship between these two symbols.

What does motherhood mean to Rosa? How does the theme of motherhood intersect with other themes in The Shawl?

In a letter to Magda, Rosa says that she “[doesn’t] believe in God, but [she] believe[s], like the Catholics, in mystery” (41). How does this relate to The Shawl’s interest in the imagination? What role does religious imagery play in Rosa’s life and why?

Discuss the techniques Ozick uses to illustrates Rosa’s deteriorating mental state during her nighttime walk in “Rosa.”

Persky is the only major figure to appear in “Rosa” who doesn’t also appear in “The Shawl.” What role does Persky play in Rosa’s story?

Rosa’s last name, “Lublin,” is also the name of the city that served as the headquarters of the Holocaust in Poland. “Magda,” meanwhile, derives from the Biblical figure Mary Magdalene, while “Stella” means “star.” Choose one of these names, or another name that features prominently in The Shawl (e.g., “Rosa” or “Tree”) and discuss its significance in terms of character and/or theme.