The Second Life of Mirielle West

Because Mirielle is sent to Carville within the first few chapters, much of what is known about Mirielle’s life in Hollywood is conveyed by flashback. Choose two or three flashbacks to this time and explain their significance to the novel.

Consider the concepts of freedom and imprisonment in the novel. What does the novel suggest true freedom entails?

How is the setting immediately surrounding Carville important to the novel? In what ways do the geography, culture, and customs of the area shape life at Carville?

As evident throughout the novel, one of the physical indications of Hansen’s disease is the appearance of lesions on the skin. Indeed, this is how Mirielle is diagnosed with the condition. How does the author utilize skin lesions—or other manifestations of the disease—as a metaphor?

The primary knowledge Mirielle has regarding Hansen’s disease prior to her arrival at Carville comes from the silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ (1925). View the film and determine what information and misinformation it conveys about leprosy. How does this compare with the description of leprosy in Leviticus? How does it compare with medical knowledge about the disease?

In her author’s note, Skenandore indicates that Carville did indeed exist and that she has striven to portray it accurately. Research other colonies dedicated to the housing and treatment of those afflicted with Hansen’s disease (in the United States and elsewhere) to determine whether Dr. Ross’s assertion that Mirielle is “better off at Carville” (50) is accurate.

Despite Mirielle’s desire to return to California throughout the novel, the epilogue reveals that she never does. Imagine an alternate ending in which Mirielle secured discharge from Carville after 12 negative skin tests: How would her life be different than it was before? Would she be able to fit back into her old life? Why or why not?

Charlie, while an important person in Mirielle’s life, only appears in the novel’s first chapters: He is mainly present in the letters he writes to Mirielle and in Mirielle’s perceptions of him. Give a character sketch of Charlie, based on Mirielle’s words and Charlie’s letters. Is he a three-dimensional character? If so, how does he grow and change throughout the novel?