In the coda, Kate DiCamillo writes, “I would like it very much if you thought of me as a mouse telling you a story, this story, with the whole of my heart, whispering it in your ear in order to save myself from the darkness, and to save you from the darkness, too” (270). What darkness is DiCamillo referring to? Why do you think DiCamillo chose to tell the reader this at the end of the novel?

Despereaux recounts his own unfolding story when braving the dungeon on his own terms, in order to give himself strength. Which parts of your own story give you strength when things feel impossible, and why?

Gregory believes he is a prisoner of the dungeon, even though some would call him its master because he is able to navigate using a rope. He remarks on the irony of his situation: The thing that helps him (the rope) is also that which confines him. What other ironies exist in characters’ lives, and do they consider them opportunities or hindrances? What does this say about their attitudes?