1. Take a fairy tale, other than "Cinderella," that you believe undermines a woman's self-perception and explain what can be done to transform the archetypes.

2. Read Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and compare what Levine attempts to accomplish in this story with what Maguire attempts to accomplish in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

3. Beginning with a definition of satire, discuss the literary devises Maguire uses to satirize the traditional "Cinderella".

4. Write an in-depth character analysis of Iris.

5. Discuss the purpose of the images Maguire evokes by developing the themes surrounding the painter and the tulip merchant. How do these images of art and nature contribute to Maguire's message?

6. Discuss the theme of magic in the novel and elaborate on how Maguire uses magic (or the lack of it) to tell his tale.

7. Discuss the dynamics of the relationship between Iris and...