Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What scene or image came back to you most strongly after you finished the book? Why do you think it stayed with you?

2. How did you feel about Charles? Did you trust him as a narrator? Did your feelings about him change as the story continued?

3. How did your sense of Hartley change between her first appearance in the village and the tea at Nibletts?

4. Did you find the postscript a satisfying close to the novel, an unsettling one, or something in between?

5. Which of the secondary characters, James, Lizzie, Rosina, Peregrine, Titus, made the strongest impression on you, and why?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Charles holds a nostalgic view of Hartley that he works hard to maintain after seeing her again in person. Have you ever held onto a version of someone from the past that did not survive seeing them again?

2. Have you ever undertaken a new direction in your life in an attempt to change yourself? What were the effects, and what did you learn?

3. Many of the characters deal with jealousy, but each in a distinct way. Have you ever felt jealous of someone? How did that feeling manifest? Did you ever discover that you were wrong in your assumptions?

4. Have you watched someone insist on “rescuing” another person who had not asked for rescue?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Although it was published nearly 50 years ago, how does the novel’s exploration of marriage and women’s roles continue to be relevant today?

2. Discuss the novel’s use of James’s Tibetan Buddhism. How does it sit alongside the traditional British setting? How is the novel’s exploration of this complicated by our modern understanding of colonialism and cultural appropriation?

3. The novel explores several living arrangements and relationships, including Ben and Hartley and Lizzie and Gilbert. How does it contribute to contemporary conversation about love, companionship, and cohabitation?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Consider the novel’s structure. How do the headings of “Prehistory,” “History,” and “Postscript” frame the narrative?

2. What role do the broken vase and mirror play in the early chapters, before Rosina’s confession explains them?

3. How does Murdoch use the contrast between London theatre life and the coastal village to frame Charles’s retreat?

4. What changes about your reading of the cauldron scene once you know Peregrine pushed Charles?

5. Discuss the appearance of the seals at the end of the novel. What function do they serve?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Sketch out a chapter narrated by James. How might his representation of his relationship with Charles be different? 

2. Imagine that Hartley is also keeping a diary of that summer. How might events be different if narrated from her point of view?

3. If you were directing a stage adaptation of the novel, which scene would you build the production around, and why?