The Heart's Invisible Furies

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1, BOOKS 1-2

1. Which city does Catherine move to?

2. Where does Seán get a job?

3. What kind of work does Maude do?

4. What is Max’s relationship to Charles?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Catherine cast out of her town?

2. What character traits does Catherine show that indicate she is beyond her years?

3. What happens to Seán and Jack right before Cyril is born?

4. Why is meeting Julian so significant for Cyril?

Paired Resource

“Review: Gender and Sexuality in Ireland”

• This scholarly review outlines the lack of research on women’s changing roles in Ireland through the 20th century and attempts to fill in some holes.
• How does Catherine’s experience showcase the ways in which misogyny in 20th century Ireland affected women, and how does Catherine demonstrate strength despite this?

“Women, Citizenship and Catholicism in the Irish Free State, 1922-1948”

• This scholarly article examines the ways in which Catholicism influenced views of women, laws targeted toward women, and the opportunities (or lack thereof) that Irish women had during the early-to-mid-20th century.
• What role did Catholicism play in misogyny in 20th-century Ireland, and how do Catherine’s and Maude’s experiences reflect this?

PART 1, BOOKS 3-5

Reading Check

1. Who is Cyril’s roommate in college?

2. Where is Cyril working in 1966?

3. What does Cyril hope that confessing will do?

4. How does Mary-Margaret die?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Julian kidnapped?

2. Why does the priest have a heart attack during Cyril’s confession?

3. Why does Cyril allow himself to undergo the dangerous medical procedure?

4. Why does Cyril marry Alice?

Paired Resource

“Out of DSM: DE pathologizing Homosexuality”

• This scholarly article examines theories and attitudes that led to the inclusion of “homosexuality” in the first and second versions of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), and the societal and scientific changes that led to its removal in 1973.
• What does the fact that attraction to members of the same sex was considered a mental illness for most of the 20th century indicate about the influence of politics and religion over scientific inquiry?

PART 2, BOOKS 1-2

1. Where does Cyril move when he leaves Ireland?

2. Who introduces Cyril to Bastiaan?

3. Who is the surprise visitor that appears at Cyril and Bastiaan’s doorstep?

4. Who is Liam?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What past event is echoed on the night on which Damir attacks Ignac, and what similarities do the two events share?

2. Why does Cyril decide to volunteer visiting AIDS patients?

3. Who do many of the patients blame for their disease?

4. How does Cyril make amends for his lies to Julian?

Paired Resource

History of the AIDS Epidemic

• This video shows how the widespread prejudice and hatred that occurred in the early days of the AIDS epidemic had ripple effects that linger today.
• The information in the video connects to the theme of Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred.
• What are the dangers of fear inspired by prejudice and hatred? How can fear fuel prejudice?

Amsterdam: The Birthplace of LGBT+ Rights

• This article outlines the progressive culture of Amsterdam and how it sought to provide rights to gay people long before most other places did.
• Why was Amsterdam an appropriate choice for Cyril to move in order to accept himself and finally be honest?

PART 3-EPILOGUE

1. Why is Charles released from prison early? 

2. What surprise does Charles have for Cyril? 

3. Where do Cyril and Ignac travel to together?

4. Who is born on Christmas morning?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Cyril feel like Ireland never changes? 

2. What is the significance of Liam calling Cyril “Dad”? 

3. How does Cyril realize that Catherine is his mother? 

4. What is the symbolism behind Catherine’s wedding at the novel’s conclusion? 

Recommended Next Reads

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

• This novel focuses on a German boy who befriends a Jewish man at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.
• Shared themes include Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred.
• Shared topics include friendship, the Holocaust, historical settings, and acceptance.
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on SuperSummary

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

• This 1964 novel details the last day in the life of a gay man living in mid-20th-century America and the social isolation he faces.
• Shared themes include Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred and Loneliness as Part of the Human Condition.
• Shared topics include historical settings and sexual identity.
• A Single Man on SuperSummary