Essay Questions

In “The Emperor’s Children,” the relationships are dotted with mischief, manipulation, and other ulterior motives. Illustrate this statement based on Claire Messud’s novel of the same name.

Claire Messud’s “The Emperor’s Children” is a novel that explores the concepts of deceitful relationships that are dotted with mischief and other manipulative ulterior motives. The romantic relationships in the novel are presented as barely real, being the most aspect of the novel in which the concept largely presents itself. As most of the characters in the novel are mostly lonely, they resort to making compromises with regards to the relationships that they engage themselves in.

For instance, in the novel, the character Clarke decides to chase a relationship with a much more well-off and affluent younger man in order to benefit from the financial support that he provides. Additionally, the character Danielle indulges herself in a relationship with two men. She decides to be involved with Thwaite, who plays the role of being a back up to her true love with Seeley. She goes ahead to manipulate Thwaite in order to get her book published despite it not being worth being published.

Most of Claire Messud’s characters in “The Empire’s Children” are presented as being under disgruntlement and distress. Support this statement using illustrations from the novel.

In “The Empire’s Children, ” the protagonists are all presented as being in a state of distress, particularly in their twenties. Claire Messud presents the novel Empire’s Children as a way in which the characters Claire, Danielle, and Marina both recognize and come to terms with their failures and misgivings. For instance, Danielle, while in her thirties, tries to have a relationship with does not work for her, unfortunately. Danielle’s beloved becomes Marina’s partner, whose career is presented by Messud as a total failure.

On the other hand, Clarke tries assuming his responsibilities by linking them to Cohen. As Cohen is also unable to keep his job, the character is forced to be on his own again. Clarke clearly presents the distress and disillusionment that most of the characters in the novel go through.