Penelope
Synopsis
An old blood family is cursed – the first daughter born since the curse will have a pig snout for a nose and she won’t be able to get rid of it until “one of their own” loves her. Their first daughter since the curse is Penelope. Her mother, ashamed of her daughter’s nose, fakes her death and keeps her locked away in their house, forever on a search for a suitable boy to marry her. Every boy that meets Penelope, though, runs away in terror. Penelope must learn to live with her nose or find someone who will help break her curse. You can read a family-minded review of Penelope here.
Discussion Questions
Use these discussion questions to prompt a discussion with your family:
Writing Prompts
Choose one or two of these writing prompts to get your creativity flowing:
An old blood family is cursed – the first daughter born since the curse will have a pig snout for a nose and she won’t be able to get rid of it until “one of their own” loves her. Their first daughter since the curse is Penelope. Her mother, ashamed of her daughter’s nose, fakes her death and keeps her locked away in their house, forever on a search for a suitable boy to marry her. Every boy that meets Penelope, though, runs away in terror. Penelope must learn to live with her nose or find someone who will help break her curse. You can read a family-minded review of Penelope here.
Discussion Questions
Use these discussion questions to prompt a discussion with your family:
- Penelope’s mom keeps her locked in the house her entire life “to protect her.” Do you think this was done out of love? What other motivations could her mother have?
- When were other instances where her mother’s motives were questionable throughout the movie?
- Penelope’s mother tells her that her face isn’t her and that her true self will come out as soon as the curse is broken and she loses her nose. Is this a good attitude to have? How did this belief keep Penelope from breaking the curse?
- Why do you think Edward was so scared of Penelope? How did his fear change the way he remembered her?
- How did Penelope change Max’s life even after just meeting each other? How did Max change her life?
- When Penelope is finally revealed to the public, they don’t react quite as negatively as everyone expected. Why do you think this is?
- Why did Max refuse to marry Penelope? Why does Edward ask her to marry him? And why does she accept?
- Do you think that marrying Edward would have broken the curse for Penelope?
- Penelope discovers that she just needed to love herself the way she is for the curse to be broken. You may not be cursed, but how could that message be applied in your own life?
- At the end of the movie, one of her students says the point of the story is “It’s not the power of the curse, it’s the power you give the curse.” What do you think he meant?
Writing Prompts
Choose one or two of these writing prompts to get your creativity flowing:
- Penelope has the structure of a classic fairy tale, with princesses, curses, true love, and a good moral. Write a fairy tale of your own, using all these components, or choose some components that you’ve seen in other fairy tales.
- Pretend that you are Penelope, cursed with a pig nose and never leaving your house. Write a journal entry of your life.
- Most people don’t have pig noses, but there are many ways that we look different from each other. Write an essay that discusses how Penelope sheds light on how people that look different are thought of and treated by others.
- Write an essay that compares Edward and Max’s characters.
- There are many people that you could blame for the unfortunate events that take place in the film. Decide who you think is the true antagonist of the story and write an essay that argues your opinion.
