The Signature of All Things

Discuss the ways in which Prudence and Alma act as foils and contrasts to each other throughout the novel. Note their different character types as well as their different character arcs, and determine whether there are ways that Prudence or Alma complement one another or supply qualities that the other lacks. (If you wish to expand the discussion, consider what qualities Retta Snow adds to the sisters’ relationship and how Retta provides a relief, a balance, or an alternate viewpoint.)

Discuss how the latent themes of sexual relations and sexual awareness provide a different pathway to knowledge and how those private, personal realms contrast with the scientific knowledge that is valued in the novel. What does it mean that Alma’s experience of sexual pleasure is self-focused? Does this comment in any way on her scientific career or ambition?

Explore Alma’s career with mosses and what this symbolizes about her personal qualities, her interests, her abilities, and her character. You may wish to explore this symbol in contrast with other characters such as Ambrose, who is compared to an orchid. You might further wish to theorize what plants might symbolize other characters in the novel. What kind of plant would best represent Hanneke, Beatrix, Prudence, Retta, or George, and why?

Compare and contrast the different cultures represented in the novel, for example the Indigenous cultures of Peru, the natives of Tahiti, the Dutch in Amsterdam, the English, or the Americans of Philadelphia. Note what the novel might be suggesting about the cultural exchanges that take place and the ways human differences can enrich and instruct.

Choose a scientific theory, technology, or development that is mentioned in the novel and research it further. Discuss the role this development plays in the novel and how it might add to the background, setting, or themes.

Research Darwin’s theory of evolution as posited in On the Origin of Species along with Alfred Russel Wallace’s theory, and compare these to Alma’s conclusions about survival. You may wish to trace the way the seeds of Alma’s theory are planted throughout the novel and flower in her time in Tahiti.

Analyze the novel’s attitude toward human love and relationships and the different models that are presented by Henry and Beatrix, Prudence and Arthur, Alma and Ambrose, George and Retta, or Ambrose and Tomorrow Morning. You may wish to reflect on these relationships in terms of Alma’s conclusions about the violence and suffering that love can cause.

Compare Alma’s discoveries, advancements, and understandings about herself and the nature of the worlds that she creates for herself in the three different settings of the novel: White Acre, Tahiti, and Amsterdam. How does each location represent the larger themes of love, conquest, spirituality, and the search for knowledge?