The Locked Door

What differences in style and tone can you identify between the chapters narrated by adult Nora and those narrated by 11-year-old Nora? What is the effect of those differences, and how does this alternating narrative timeline help shape the novel’s plot, characterization, and/or exploration of key themes?

Is Nora Davis/Nierling a reliable narrator? How does her reliability change as the novel progresses? Is she more reliable in her adult or child chapters?

How does the novel depict the gender dynamics between the characters, such as between Nora and Brady, and Nora and Philip? How does Nora’s understanding of relationships and intimacy change over the course of the novel?