Mona Lisa Smile

1. What remained most impressive in your mind from the movie? Why?

2. How would you interpret the title? Why? What do you think the director wanted to say through the movie?
What would be your reason for thinking so? Is it an effective message applicable still to today’s society? Why or
why not?

3. Discuss the characters. What did you think about Miss Watson? How do you evaluate her as a teacher? As a
woman? As a person? Why? How about the four main Wellesley students: Betty, Joan, Giselle, and Connie, and
the other female characters? How would you characterize them as women? As independents beings? How are
the male characters portrayed? What might be the message behind the creation of these characters?

4. Bill tells Katherine that rather than helping the students find their way, what Katherine wanted was to make
the students find and follow her ways. Do you agree? Why or why not? How do you interpret the ending of the
movie?

5. The movie’s background is the American women’s college, Wellesley, of the 1950’s. Almost 70 years have
passed since. As women living in the 21st century, can you sympathize or empathize with the life and experience
of these women? Why or why not? As indicated by the President of Wellesley, college education for women is
relatively recent phenomenon that indicates the progressive development of women’s status in the society. What
is the significance of women’s college education? What should be its purpose? What might be the positive or
negative consequence of women being “educate” from women’s, men’s, and society’s perspectives?

6. What are the images or thoughts that come into your mind when you hear the term “woman”? What do you
think might be the reason for such images and thoughts? Are these recently produced images or traditional
images of women? Have women progressed since the days of Miss Watson? If so, how? If not, why not? What
is the most important quality that would lead to true independence or progress for women?

7. What do you think might be the positive or negative experience that is exclusively for “women” in this
society? Have you ever been discriminated for being a woman? Have you ever been conscious of being a
woman in this society? When and why? How do you evaluate yourself as a “women”? Do you believe and
experience to be “equal” to men in this society? Are you happy being a woman? If not, what would make you to
lead a more satisfactory and rewarding life? What do you think needs to be done in order to fulfill this
condition?

8. What is your interpretation of the term “man” in the present society? What is your expectation from this
“man”? Is your expectation different from that of a “woman”? If so, why? Do you think men are more favorably
situated in today’s society? Would men feel/ Are men discriminated in the post-feminist society? Would you
prefer to lead the life of men than women? Why or why not?

9. Katherine asks her students how will the future historians remember women of her times. How would you
evaluate them? How would the future historians remember women of today? Why? What would be the one
word that will describe women of today in your mind? Why?

10. What kind of life do you think you would be leading as a woman and as an individual twenty years from
now? What would be the most fulfilling image of yourself? Why?

** Individual writing task: Write an individual essay depicting your ideal image of the future self twenty years
from now. It may be in any format(formal essay, diary, letter, creative writing, etc.), as long as your future self is
explained or portrayed in detail with the clear basis for such a vision.