Daughter of Venice

The story places one girl’s wish to study and choose her future against customs governing daughters’ education, marriage and convent life. It also brings religious difference into Donata’s feelings for Noè, while showing her sheltered perspective meeting other people’s circumstances.

Donata’s disguise and secret departures put her at risk of repercussions for herself and her family. The story also includes constraints on girls’ education and futures, religious difference, and romantic feelings across religious lines.

How does Donata’s experience change the way she sees her own family’s expectations and the lives of people beyond her sheltered home?

It may help to read together in short sections and pause when the story introduces Venetian customs or history. You could distinguish what characters accept as customary from what Donata questions, without assuming the novel settles every debate.