The novel foregrounds differing expectations for gender—from the nuns at Bishop Home to Haleola and Leilani. How do these gender expectations change or develop in light of the exile of people with Hansen’s disease to Moloka’i?

The novel focuses on technological and/or medical “progress” as Hawaii moves from kingdom to territory to, eventually, American state. How do the native Hawaiians and the novel itself respond to this “progress”?

Regret and grief loom large as concepts that drive the plot of Moloka’i. How does Brennert balance these emotions with the historical facts of the Moloka’i settlement?