The Wise Man's Fear

Kvothe has many different teachers in this novel. Describe the different kinds of education he receives and where they come from. Do you think any one type of education is better or more important than another?

There are many more women in The Wise Man’s Fear than there were in The Name of the Wind, and we see women in a wider range of circumstances. How do women function in this novel? How does geography and culture contribute to women and their behaviors in this novel? Where do women have power and where are they powerless in this novel?

What is the difference between story and rumor in this novel? How are they similar and how are they different? How do they impact both past and present Kvothe?

The Chandrian and the Amyr both seemingly engage in an intentional erasure of their histories. Why is this erasure important? Who has the power to control the flow of information, and what does that mean for the powerless?

Compare Carceret and Ambrose. How do they propel the novel’s plot? How do they create conflict? Does Kvothe “beat” them in the end?

Auri and Puppet are both mysterious figures that Kvothe interacts with. He presumes that they are both previous students, and they both go by names that were given to them. What do these two characters represent? Why are they so important to Kvothe?

Kvothe realizes his own hypocrisy about chastising Denna for her abusive patron after remembering that he subjected himself to university whippings. Are there other times that Kvothe is accidentally a hypocrite?

Naming and names are given significant power in this novel. Describe the different beliefs/powers attributed to naming.