The Fairfax Library Book
Discussion Group will meet, Thursday, November 8th at 7 p.m. in the meeting
room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our November book, The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry.
Discussion questions, author
interview and reviews are attached.
Here are some links for
additional background and information:
Coming up, we have the
following book to look forward to reading:
Thurs. Dec.
13th The Mothers
by Brit Bennett
Thanks for reading with
us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.
Beth
Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax
Library
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Many comparisons have been drawn between
Sarah Perry’s writing and the Victorian novelists who were writing at the time
the book was set, including Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Do you think this
book feels Victorian, or contemporary feel when she effectively provides hope
in the form of bread each day?
2. “I’ll fill your wounds with gold”, Michael says. He means
both literally that he will make sure Cora is financially comfortable during
their marriage in exchange for the pleasure of hurting her, but also that he
will remake her as something more beautiful and interesting than she was
before. Cora survived her horrible marriage, but was definitely damaged by it.
What do you think the seams of gold are in Cora’s character?
3. Many of the characters have unequal
relationships: Cora and Martha, Spencer and Will. Do you think that viewing
someone as a means to an end necessarily precludes loving them?
4. Cora’s son, Francis, might today be diagnosed
as being on the autistic spectrum. Despite his challenges, he gets a lot of
pleasure from learning about the natural world. Eccentricity seems to have been
more acceptable in the Victorian era, at least for men of a certain class. Do
you think Francis would be happier in his time or in our own?
5. Will is at odds with the superstitious
villagers, who insist the serpent is real, whereas he sees their conviction as
a sign of their lack of faith. However, he is also wrangling with Cora, who is
more interested in science than religious belief. And while Will is a minister of
the established Church, he secretly reads Darwin. Do you think he believes
faith is fundamentally rooited in the words of the Bible or a more personal
encounter with the world?
6. When Francis asks Will what sin is, he
describes it as falling short. When Will and Cora finally have their encounter
in the woods, Will’s wife is still alive. How do you think Will would judge
this incident by his own definition of sin?
7. Cora’s physical size and mannish habits of
dress are frequently commented upon by other characters in the novel. She
rejects a lot of society’s expectations of her as a woman, whereas Stella
Ransome is the living embodiment of the perfect housewife. Despite their
differences, they are friends. What do you think Perry is trying to tell us by
having Cora save her rival instead of quietly letting her drown?
8. Cora sends her angry letter to Luke at a
terrible time --- it arrives as all his other hopes are being dashed. If this
unfortunate coincidence hadn’t taken place, would we still read the letter as
cruel? Should she have expressed her thoughts more kindly or was she right to
be angry?
9. One of the subplots of the novel is the
disappearance of Naomi Banks. She and Joanna Ransome argued and Naomi ran away.
By the end of the novel, she has returned and Joanna is trying to cope with the
imminent death of her mother. Do you think they will become close friends
again, for good, or are the differences between them simply too great?
10. The novel sets up Cora to choose between two
men and in the end she chooses neither. Do you think this is a comment on
traditional literary plots? Do you think the novel sees friendship as more
valuable and enduring than romantic love?
11. Cora seems to know that at one level she
married Michael for his money. Martha is faced with a similar choice, though
Spencer is much kinder than Michael. Many of the characters have unequal
relationships: Cora and Martha, Spencer and Will. Do you think that viewing someone
as a means to an end necessarily precludes loving them?
12. Cora survived her
horrible marriage, but was definitely damaged by it. How do you think that the
experience has shaped her character?
13. Will is at odds with
the superstitious villagers, who insist the Serpent is a message from God and
want him to preach fire and brimstone to them. However, he is also wrangling
with Cora, who is more interested in science than faith. Do you think he
believes faith is more about the following the words of the bible or more about
personal belief?
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