Questions to Get Us Going: May Sarton's The Small Room

While I was away at AERA in Montreal, my higher ed in film and fiction class had an online discussion of May Sarton's novel, The Small Room. Here is how I started us off:

1 How does the setting, a women's college in Massachusetts named Appleton, contribute to what happens in the book?

2 One of the themes of the book is excellence, and its price. Comment.

3 Why do you think Jane Seaman plagiarized? Do you believe she was seeking escape?

4 Describe, and contrast, Lucy Winter's relationship with Jane Seaman and with Pippa Brentwood.

5 Is college teaching a "messy business" (168)?

6 On page 39, Hallie Summerson says to Lucy that it is a "good sign" that Lucy believes she failed in her teaching of a class that day, as "one always gets a negative reaction after a good class…You've given a piece of yourself away, even if it is only a certain amount of nervous energy…" Discuss.