1. Like other books we have read, this one gives emotional, even spiritual value to different geographical places, often in opposing pairs.  What are some of the opposing pairs of places you can find in this book, and what does each "mean"?  How would you relate this use of geographical space to some of the previous books we have read?
 

2.  What is "Magic" and how is it related to science and religion, according to this book?
 

3. Film and stage adaptations of this book have changed the plot in various ways.  Discuss the following changes (not necessarily all in the same, or all in different, versions), considering not only their effects on characters and theme, but their assumptions about what the audience "ought to" experience, and/or about how points can be made effectively in an audio-visual medium vs. a book.
    a. There is an epilogue to the story in which an adult Mary and Colin return to the estate as an engaged couple, and remember sadly that Dickon was killed in WWI.
    b. There is an epilogue to the story in which Colin's father marries Dickon's mother (in this version, she is a widow; in the book, her husband is alive).
    c. Mary's mother was the sister of Colin's mother (in the book, her father was the brother of Colin's mother).  When her uncle sees her, he recognizes that she looks like his dead wife.  That is why he gives her the garden, etc.
    d. The doctor and Mrs. Medlock are conspirators, who really are trying to get Colin to die so that they can gain control of the estate.  In the book, even Colin does not suspect Mrs. Medlock, and his suspicions about the doctor, his cousin, are merely paranoid.
    e. The doctor is a farcical character, who is always running into things, falling over or dropping them, and at one point has his wig stolen by one of Dickon's animals.
 

4. Each of the three children can be seen as the "most important" character in this story.  What is the case for each?
 

5. How does the treatment of nature in this book differ from and resemble that in other books we have read?

6. The book implicitly criticizes the class structure of British society, both in India and in England, but not solely on the basis of its injustice to the lower classes.  What criticisms does it make about the treatment of upper class children, the distribution of wealth, and the position of employees, especially servants?