The Marranos of Spain; B. Netanyahu
1)The old admonition to avoid discussions of religion and politics hints at the explosive nature of these subjects. Yet, the opening chapter of The Salt Covenants broaches them both. One of them (religion) has divided a family; the other (politics) threatens to endanger their lives. Can you think of any other topics capable of doing this? How in times past has religion and politics changed your personal world? Or the larger world of your generation?
2)Is Isabel’s mother justified in her anger and hurt feelings regarding her daughter’s conversion? And is she right to blame herself ? Just how much responsibility should parents take in shaping their children’s spirituality? As much responsibility as their education and character? More? Less? And can one’s character and one’s spirituality be truly separated, one from the other? Have you ever known anyone totally void of a moral compass? If so, what was he/ she like?
3)Early on we learn that Beatriz is much loved and possesses a gentle and submissive nature. But later we see she is unprepared to cope with the realities of the world as evidenced by her inability to keep tabs of wages due; her naivety, even childishness, in the face of danger. Can’t people be both “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16)? Have you ever known such a person? How did he/she balance out their personalities?
4)Isabel’s deep love for her sister is obvious. But when Beatriz is ordered to the Holy House doesn’t Isabel display her own shortcomings by feeling left out of the loop and thinking like a child instead of trying to understand the danger and the strain under which her parents labor? What kind of emotions and behavior does stress generally bring out?
5)Beatriz’s confession that she is pregnant rocks the household. Given Beatriz’s gentle personality was it a shock when you learned she took her own life? It was, after all, an act of extreme violence. If yes, why? If no, why? Is her action reasonable when she had such a loving, supportive family? Women have faced this issue for centuries. Why can some women, with marginal support or no support at all, survive what Beatriz went through, and others cannot?
6)Isabel, due to her sincere conversion, is forced to perform a balancing act between the world of Judaism and Christianity, feeling like she fully belongs to neither. Yet the cruelty of her sister’s imprisonment in the Holy House and the cruelty of the many auto de fes she was forced to witness aren’t able to change her course. Would you say she was a woman of deep conviction? Or foolish? Why?
7)Were you shocked by the seemingly insignificant charges leveled against the Judaizers at the auto de fes? What kind of society permits such a gross miscarriage of justice? What collective mindset is necessary? Where there other factors besides religion that permitted this type of mind set?
8)In chapter 4 Isabel is scandalized when her parents don’t observe Shavuot and Tisha B’Av even though she has repeatedly warned them about doing so. Is her distress a sign of immaturity? Or just the strain of seeing so much upheaval and changes in her life? Have you ever persisted in trying to change a situation and when it finally changed, you resented the change?
9)Were Isabel’s parents right in forcing Isabel to marry Sebastian and move to the Indies? What lengths would you, as a parent, go to protect your child from danger and injustice?
10)Isabel and Sebastian’s marriage was a marriage of necessity and convenience. Though “arranged” marriages are a thing of the past, at least in our culture, some men and women still marry for necessity and convenience. What of the woman who marries a wealthy man to secure her financial future? What of the ordinary-looking man who marries a beautiful woman to secure his ego? Have you known of such marriages? Did they work out? Was some mutual ground of respect achieved? Did love take root?
11)Beginning from Isabel’s marriage to Sebastian and throughout the long trip on foot to Cadiz and the voyage to the Indies afterward, we see Isabel change from a girl into a woman. It is said hardship can make you “bitter or better.” What hardships have made you better? Were you able to be grateful for your hardship after you saw how you had grown as a person? Can people really grow without some hardship, stress, or difficulties? If yes, explain.
12)One of Isabel’s loneliest moments was when she sailed from Cadiz. She was leaving everything and everyone she loved. Was there ever a time in your life when you felt stripped of everything you held dear? How did you react? What helped you cope?
13)During the storm on board the Tortoise, Fray Buil saves Isabel’s life. And later she comes to value him to the point of not wanting him to leave their settlement and return to Spain, and this in spite of the fact he represented everything she detested and feared. How many times have we misjudged? Or made sweeping pronouncements only to find we were wrong? Is it ever right to be biased if that bias is based on generalizations and not facts? Have you ever had a preconceived opinion of someone only to have it change after getting to know him/ her better?
14)Sebastian neglected and ignored Isabel. Was it his own pain that made him do this? Or was it his selfishness and childishness? Or both? How would a more grounded and mature individual handle this? Can emotions be controlled or subdued by maturity?
15)Isabel crossed a time-honored line when she befriended Maria, that of social class. In the time period and culture of the story, class distinction was paramount. Does class distinction exist today? If “yes” how can it be overcome?
16)Isabel had a strong work ethic in a culture where work was considered abhorrent. In what other ways was she out of step with her time?
17)After Antonio arrives at La Isabela with a marriage contract, Isabel decides to be honest with him, half hoping, half expecting him to back out of the marriage. If he had, what other options, if any, were available to her?
18)Though Isabel loves Antonio deeply, she is bitterly disappointed in him when he refuses to stop hundreds of Taino captives from being chained and taken to Torres’s ships. Do we expect too much from those we love? Do we sometimes hurt them by our unrealistic expectations? Is it really possible to always be kind to each other in an otherwise cruel world?
19)When Isabel loses her baby, is Antonio’s reaction a valid one? If so, why? If not, why? Can such things really come between a husband and wife and alter their relationship? Even if that relationship was a solid one?
20)Enrique feels compelled to destroy that which he fears and hates as evidenced in his treatment of Isabel. Are there similarities between him and someone in an organization like the KKK? What about the Nazis? Can you think of other groups or persons who behave like this today? People or groups that allow their fears and hatred to drive them?
21)In the end, Isabel opts to forgive Maria. But throughout the book there are many opportunities to extend forgiveness or ask for it, such as when Isabel brings her silk shawl to the young Taino woman Sebastian raped. What are some of the others? Where did Isabel fail? How important is forgiving those who hurt us? Can one truly overcome adversity without it? Can there be healing without it?
The Salt Covenants Page 32