Female Empowerment

While the beginning of this novel is set up to tell a love story between Emily and Robbie, at the core of the novel is really an exploration into women’s agency, their contribution to the war effort and the strength and support found within female community.

At the beginning of the novel, the author introduces beliefs that were prevalent in prewar society in order to help readers understand the changes that society underwent during and after the Great War. For example, Emily’s mother, Mrs. Bryce, exhibits old-fashioned ideas about women’s place in society and in the family. She is determined to find Emily a husband and discourages her from pursuing further education or employment. Regarding university, Emily remembers her mother thinking it was “a silly idea” because “she said too much education was not good for women. They needed to know how...