The French Lieutenant's Woman

How does clothing play into the system of Victorian etiquette, and how is this represented in the way different characters dress? Are any items of clothing or personal belongings particularly symbolic?

Why does Sarah remain in Lyme Regis if her story about the French Lieutenant is a fabrication? Why does she consider her life there better than the alternatives? Use examples from the text to support your response.

What is the role of love in each of the novel’s main relationships, i.e., Charles and Ernestina, Charles and Sarah, and Sam and Mary? How does this love—or lack of love—express itself? What does the characters’ relationship to love reveal about marriage and romance in Victorian society?

What is the significance of paleontology in Victorian England? Discuss a real-life paleontological finding that changed society’s understanding of history, science, and/or social progress.

Most of the novel’s characters indulge in fakeness and performance to mask their true feelings, often at the expense of others. Is anyone in the novel portrayed as an authentic, truly moral person? Why or why not? Provide evidence from the text in your response.

Does the narrator judge Sam for accomplishing his ambition of becoming a haberdasher through ethically questionable actions? Why or why not? Provide evidence from the text in your response.

How would the novel have been different if the narrator did not appear as a self-conscious character? What would it lose or gain by being a traditional piece of period fiction?

Charles is the novel’s protagonist, but the title refers to Sarah, the French Lieutenant’s Woman. What does this convey about the novel’s focus and themes?