Atwood develops her main characters with extensive backstory and meticulous detail. How do all these details provide a rationalization for Zenia’s ability to access and exploit them?

World War II is a significant event in the characters’ lives, either directly or indirectly. In what ways, both explicit and implicit, does the war affect the lives of Tony, Charis, and Roz?

Zenia is purposefully written as an enigma. While Atwood gives voluminous details about her three main women, she provides next to nothing about Zenia, with the exception of sketchy stories that may or may not be true. What is Atwood’s purpose for Zenia’s vague and shadowy background?