Raising Hare

The author notes the ways that humans have altered hares’ habitats. To what degree can the hare be viewed as emblematic of larger destructive patterns in Humanity’s Changing Relationship With Nature? How does the decline in hare populations impact other species?

How does Dalton try to foreground her appreciation for hares as a species instead of focusing on the hare’s relationship with her? What impact does this approach have on the way she interacts with the hare? Is it possible to build a relationship with an animal without anthropomorphizing it? Does Chloe succeed in this goal?

What drives Chloe to remain in the countryside after pandemic lockdowns end, and how does this choice reflect her shifting priorities?

How would you articulate the author’s personal philosophy as it applies to the ideal relationship between humans and the natural world? What would need to change in order for this ideal relationship to become reality? How does she work toward this change in her own life?

The author describes her care for the hare as “self-soothing.” How does she go about re-integrating herself within the natural world surrounding her country home? What evidence can you cite as exemplary of her shift toward living a life more harmonious with nature?

How does the hare impact Chloe’s personal relationships? How do her friends and family perceive her interest in her own hare and hares in general, and how does Chloe respond to other people’s opinions about her life choices? How does this conflict with conventional opinion reflect her changing sense of self?

Discuss the author’s choice to end her book on an uncertain note. How does this ambiguity reflect the novel’s exploration of The Challenges and Rewards of Caregiving?

Research representations of the hare in literature or popular culture. What do you find? Do the kinds of hares you read about fit with depictions that Chloe ruminates on in her discussion of Lewis Carrol and other figures? What do these representations suggest about Humanity’s Changing Relationship With Nature?