Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Household servants in Victorian Times and our BookBrowse Review of The Observations.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About the Book
When she runs away from Glasgow in the early 1860s, departing so precipitously
that she leaves her overcoat behind, teenage Bessy Buckley knows all too well
the sordid, ugly life she is leaving behind. However, not even her own powerful
imagination can prepare her for the strange new life that awaits her. Through
Bessy's narrative, which she relates with both gritty humor and heartrending
pathos, the reader enters the world and mind of a Victorian working-class girl
and shares in her none-too-gentle passage toward self-knowledge and
independence.
Chance and necessity combine to lead Bessy to accept work as a maidservant at
the country estate of James Reid, a self-absorbed petty aristocrat bent on
capturing a seat in Parliament. Mr. Reid's obsession, though, pales in
comparison with the peculiarities of "the missus."
From the outset of their relationship, Arabella Reid perplexes her new
employee with a battery of bizarre commands. Perhaps the strangest but most
urgent of these is that Bessy must keep a journal, detailing her most trivial
actions and innermost thoughts. As Arabella's behavior grows increasingly
erratic, Bessy soon discovers that her entire life is the consuming subject of
her mistress's experimental scrutiny. When she further discovers that Arabella
is at work on a secret manuscript, a book of "observations" on the behavior of
domestic servants, Bessy is horrified that her sordid past is not as carefully
concealed as she has supposed. Bessy impulsively responds by seeking vengeance,
and her stratagem for getting even unleashes an extraordinary chain of events
marked by guilt, passion, betrayal, and madness. Standing just at the margins of
Bessy's and Arabella's relationship are two other compelling figures, one
apparently angelic and the other appallingly satanic. Arabella is haunted by the
memory of Nora Hughes, a nearly perfect maidservant who preceded Bessy in
Arabella's employment and whose tragic death raises unanswerable questions.
Bessy is likewise tormented by the memory of her mother, Bridget, whose
mistreatment of her only child beggars description.
As remarkable for its astute sketches of its minor characters as it is for
the rich, authentic voice of its narrator,
The Observations is the outstanding
debut novel of the noted short story writer Jane Harris. Both through the
clinical perspective of Arabella and the cynical but indefatigably hopeful eyes
of Bessy, the reader, too, is invited to observe the foibles of ambition and the
destructive power of untrammeled lust. More significantly, however, the novel is
a book about the act of writing itself. Arabella, who carefully conceals the
existence of her manuscript from her husband, uses her work to pursue a life of
the mind that would otherwise be denied her. Bessy, for her part, gradually
learns through the keeping of her journal that she has thoughts worth preserving
and a life worth fighting for. As she learns about writing, Bessy also learns
about loyalty and the courage to survive in a shattered world.
Discussion Questions
- Bessy is a poor girl who finds it best to deny that she has a family.
Her mistress, on the other hand, is married to a landowner preparing to make
his entry into national politics. How does their enormous difference in
social status shape their relationship? Do they ever truly overcome this
gap, and if so, at what cost?
- What is Arabella Reid's view of the working classes before Bessy's
arrival? Does her acquaintance with Bessy change Arabella's view of her
supposed inferiors, and if so, how?
- Arabella is virtually obsessed with chronicling and analyzing the
thoughts and actions of her maidservants. How would you characterize the
motives behind her research? Is her interest propelled by kindness,
aggression, voyeurism, or some other emotional or intellectual force?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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