III. Topics for discussion:

1. Speak of Nan’s shock at the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. Make list of words conveying Nan’s emotional state and reaction and use them when discussing the question.

2. Discuss Nan’s attempt to take solace in Tim Burke’s sympathy. Say what you think of Nan’s moral standards.

3. Comment on Nan’s conversation with her husband. Speak of her attempts to have her own way. Which of the two was more pathetic? Note the contrast between Nan’s lofty words and her drunken state. Specify the peculiar blending of the dramatic and the comic in the situation. Why did I. Murdoch depict the episode in such a ludicrous way? Find elements of symbolism in the scene.

4. Mor’s thoughts of the shock he had undergone. Why are they given against the background of the Mass in the chapel? Speak of the development of events after the drama of Nan’s return. Was the love of Mor and Rain diminished? Do you believe that Mor was telling Rain the truth when he said that his marriage was a complete failure or do you think that it suited him to say so?

5. Bledyard’s talk with Mor. What do you think lay at the bottom of Bledyard’s attempts to persuade Mor to leave Rain? Find proof that Bledyard had faith in Miss Carter as a painter.

Chapters 14, 15

I. Active vocabulary:

to feel complete confidence

to experience jealous feelings

cry-baby

to weep without restraint

to be under a strain

to fix a date

disaster

to envisage

connoisseur

self-portrait

VOCABULARY PRACTICE:

□ Recount the situations in which the active vocabulary is used.

□ Write a short story using the vocabulary

II. Exercises:

1. Comprehension check. Answer the following questions:

Why did irrational feelings begin to plague Nan after her return to Dorset?

Why was Felicity crying?

Why did Nan weep without restraint when she had found Felicity at the beach?

Why was Mor tormented?

Why did Rain take Mor to the exhibition of her father’s and her paintings?

What traits of Rain’s character are revealed during their visit to the exhibition?

Why could they decide to get married only after the visit to the exhibition?

What is implied by the following: “Tea at Fortnum and Mason, rain decreed!”

What influence did Rain produce on Mor? (see p.155)

2. Comprehension check. Correct the following:

Nan had never been a jealous person. She had been sure of Mor’s love.

In Nan’s opinion Mor was a very practical person.

Felicity was a very happy girl to whom tears did not easily come.

The exhibition of Rain’s Carter’s works was a complete failure.

III. Tasks:

1) Consider the following episodes, and state your opinion of them.

Nan’s speculations about Bill. Tim Burke, and the reality of life.

Felicity’s outbursts of grief at the beach. Comment on her stories about the butterfly and

the fish.

Nan’s outburst of tears.

Mor’s indecision. What was there about his new life that aroused his doubt?

How did the newly acquired knowledge of Rain influence Mor (at the exhibition)?

What thoughts was Mor preoccupied with when looking at the pictures?

Their final decision. Describe Mor’s state of mind after it.

2) Read and translate the passage on p. 151 starting with “During those days Mor learnt what it was to have a mind diseased…”

3) Prove that Rain was a famous painter.

4) Discuss “…Mor felt within him the quick stir of excitement which came with the first sight of London, always for him, as in his country childhood, the beautiful and slightly sinister city of possibilities and promises.” What in your opinion is more exciting, life in a big city or in a small one?

5) Speak about the symbolism in chapter.

Chapter 16