Queen of the Night (Chee) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. What is Lilliet’s belief in Fate? How does she see it ruling over her life? Do you think she is in control of her own actions? In what ways do you see her at the will of Fate and how does she make her own way in the world?

2. “Your Fach was your fate as a singer, as far as roles went, and so no wonder if we felt our fates came from our Fächer as well” (478). What does it mean to be a Falcon? How did it affect Lilliet’s fate? What is the Tenor’s Fach and how does it compare to Lilliet’s?

3. What is Lilliet’s real name? What are some of her many nicknames and why does she have so many?

4. What is Lilliet’s curse (or curses)? Do you think the curse is real?

5. “It was as if I had two voices now, the one strong and clear, the other turned to ash. As if the voice that could speak had been punished for the pride of the one that could sing. The gift and the test” (55). What is the significance of Lilliet’s different abilities to speak and to sing?

6. “There were only three people in Paris who knew of the rose’s time with me and the secrets I’d want to keep. It had taken me to each of them in turn, once I had accepted it from the Emperor’s hand. The first still loved me but had betrayed me, the second had once owned me. The third, I would say, never thought of me at all. Or, so I hoped...There was once a fourth, but he was dead” (76–77). Who are these four characters and what were their relationships to Lilliet? Was she correct in her evaluations of each of them at this point in the story? How does each of their stories evolve?

7. How is Lilliet the “Queen of the Night”? Why is the book called this?

8. Why does Lilliet allow herself to be registered when she is arrested with Euphrosyne? Why is this so surprising to everyone else? Think about how and if characters are acting according to gender norms of the day, and how they look to subvert them.

9. “She wanted only to be feared. I wanted to be feared and loved. I didn’t want everything she had as she stood on stage that night. I wanted more” (120). Look at the various role models Lilliet had— Euphrosyne, the Countess, Eugenie, Cora, her mother. What did Lilliet want for herself that these women didn’t have? How did she set out to achieve that?

10. Discuss the importance of clothing and appearance in the novel. What do Lilliet’s cancan shoes mean to her? How do men use the gift of clothing to their advantage? Look at the opening scene and how Lilliet’s change of clothing changes people’s perception of her. Other instances to examine might be the wardrobe of the Empress, the events at the costume ball, or other ways Lilliet must disguise and reinvent herself.

11. Who were Lilliet’s voice teachers and how did each shape her as a person?

12. For Lilliet, what does it mean to be free? Are there any female characters in this novel who are truly free? Discuss the idea of freedom, how it has evolved for women since the time of the setting of this novel, and what it means to you.

13. Look at the various relationships in the novel and discuss the characters’ motivations for entering into them. Which relationships are purely utilitarian? Who is using whom and how? Where do you see true love and true friendship?

14. Where does Lilliet come from and where does she go? What is her overall trajectory? What are her various professions, what does she learn from each of them, and how does she use them to get to where she wants to be? (And where does she want to be, ultimately?) Who does she love, who is her family?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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