L I T E R A R Y    C R I T I C I S M S  

Kristin Hannah is widely known for her historical fiction writings. Some historical events she has written about are the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, World War ll, Cold War, and Post- Vietnam War. The author researches about the events and the timelines of each historical event to accurately create a story that likely could have taken place. 

Specifically, Kristin Hannah based a novel she wrote, The Nightingale, to take place during the French Resistance period while World War ll was in full effect. Hannah accurately describes the setting in great detail. Throughout The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah describes the difference in the setting as the seasons change and time passes. 

There are many examples of patriarchal views throughout the novel that are displayed in World War ll. The men go off to war and the women will stay home and raise the children. Another example of the patriarchal values within the novel is when the German officer took advantage of the woman he was staying with, asserting his dominance over her. One of the main characters, Isabelle Rossignol, is a young, independent woman who challenges the ideal principles of patriarchy by participating in resistance work. She was told by older men, in the novel, that she was too young, a female, and too emotional to take action within resistance work, but she did it anyway. 

Isabelle Rossignal, one of the main characters of the book, decided to join the French Resistance. This is an example of feminism because she is standing up to patriarchal ideals and to the men in charge of which are the Nazis. She challenged the patriarchal views of everyone around her. She was passionate about advocating for equal opportunity between men and women, which would allow her to fight back against the Nazis, even if it was indirectly. Isabelle also didn’t like the idea of traditional gender roles and opposed them by taking on the job of a man within the novel. 

The author, Kristin Hannah, well describes the seasons throughout the time passed in her novels. The environment in her novels has influence on the decisions the characters make. Especially in novels that involve the dust bowl and the Great Depression. Winter in particular had great influence because the harsh conditions not only can severely impact physician health, but the bleakness of winter can negatively influence mental health. Kristin Hannah displays the negative impact through the narration of the characters inner thoughts. The environment isn’t just in the background; it is a part of the story. Without Kristin Hannah thoroughly describing the seasons changing, the story wouldn’t make as much sense. 

Kristin Hannah focuses on developing the identity of the characters in her novels. Kristin Hannah described many characters as if their stories were real. In some cases they were similar to real life stories. The author would research someone’s story from the war and become inspired by it. She made characters that each would have represented a person and their situation during the war: husband leaving for war, widowed mother, independent young girl, jewish friendships, German officers.  

Emotional connections and attachments between characters in the novels helps develop the story. The emotional connections can relay themes and messages to the audience better. 

           Motherhood is a concept Kristin Hannah uses in her writings. The reason Hannah could write with motherhood being shown in her novels is because of her deep connection with her mother. She explores this concept and feeling through her writing. Showing healthy and toxic parts of a mother daughter relationship. In a novel, The Nightingale, Hannah wrote of a wife whose husband has gone off to war, and had to raise her younger sister like a daughter. This was difficult for the character because they were already siblings, and the father had shut them out. The feeling of being a mother occurred to the older sister, when the younger sister achieved great things and stood up for what she believed in. 

Through Kristin Hannah's character's experiences, feelings of happiness come from validation. The characters she writes about always follow with needing validation. Hannah creates this theme because many people in the world behave in a way to seek validation. 

Hannah also writes in themes of survival and resilience. Since Kristin Hannah writes novels of historical fiction, her characters utilize these themes to relay messages like, it is important to stand up for what you believe in and fight till change is made. Which is practically what war or many tragic historical events are about. 

Kristin Hannah uses imagery to describe the historical events accurately. For example, World War ll discriminated against the  Jewish population. Since the Jewish were a major part of the war, Kristin Hannah made it a part of the writing. Hannah also in great detail described the setting and inner thoughts of characters, which made it easy as an audience to make emotional connections to the story. 

Kristin Hannah utilized metaphors in her writing as well. She wanted to create relations from environment to people and used metaphors by doing so. Hannah used the desolate surroundings in the novel to create an image reflecting history itself.