Introduction

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Dukes's gripping historical novel tells the tale of a desperate Albanian woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her independence and seize control of her future...even if it means swearing to remain a virgin for her entire life.

When eighteen-year-old Eleanora’s father is shot dead on the cobblestone streets of 1910 Albania, Eleanora must abandon her dream of studying art in Italy as she struggles to survive in a remote mountain village with her stepmother Meria.

Nearing starvation, Meria secretly sells Eleanora into marriage with the cruel heir of a powerful clan. Intent on keeping her freedom, Eleanora takes an oath to remain a virgin for the rest of her life—a tradition that gives her the right to live as a man: she is now head of her household and can work for a living as well as carry a gun. Eleanora can also participate in the vengeful blood feuds that consume the mountain tribes, but she may not be killed—unless she forsakes her vow, which she has no intention of ever doing.

But when an injured stranger stumbles into her life, Eleanora nurses him back to health, saving his life—yet risking her own as she falls in love with him...

“It’s hard to believe that the culture Dukes describes was ever real, but the amount of research she put into this book definitely shines through. The story remains fascinating throughout; readers will definitely find it difficult to put this novel down.”—San Francisco Book Review

 

 

 

 

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Discussion Questions

1. One theme The Sworn Virgin explores is the gap between what society expects from men and women. How would Eleanora’s life been different if she had been born a man? Do you think she would have still wanted to leave Albania and become an artist?

3. When Eleanora and her father Fran witness a bride being dragged away to her new family, Fran tells her he tried to interrupt a scene once when he was much younger, and the bride slapped him for the shame he had caused. What do you think Fran’s point was?

4. When Meria first tries to arrange the marriage between Eleanora and Kol, do you think she is sincerely trying to help her stepdaughter or does she have ulterior motives?

5. Meria and Eleanora represent traditional and non-traditional women. How do they deal with the death of Fran differently? What are the contrasting ways they approach survival?

6. Do you think Meria would have sold Eleanora into marriage if Eleanora had been her biological daughter? Why or why not?

7. After Meria’s betrayal, do you think Eleanora could have acted differently? How would you have acted?

8. How does Eleanora’s and Meria’s relationship change after Eleanora becomes a sworn virgin and the head of the household?

9. How are other ways society treats Eleanora differently when she is a sworn virgin?

11. When Eleanora says to Meria, “You always blamed me for my father’s death . . . But it was you, you and everyone like you who killed him,” what do you think she means?

12. When Eleanora meets Cheremi, they are social equals, and Cheremi is grateful to Eleanora for saving his life. As their relationship develops, do you think Cheremi continues to treat Eleanora as an equal?

13. Do you think Cheremi acts defensively because he find Eleanora’s independence threatening, or does she have unrealistic expectations of what their relationship can be?

14. Why do you think Eleanora ultimately leaves Cheremi? Do you believe she did the right thing?

15. The last lines of The Sworn Virgin are “She survived it before. She would survive it again.” What did Eleanora survive before? Does “she” possibly refer to another character, and if so, who?

16. Symbols for infinity (such as the ouroboros bracelet Eleanora wears, that originally belonged to her mother) and history repeating itself appear throughout the book. What are the ways that characters repeat their previous actions or their own history? In what ways do characters repeat the history of other characters?

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