The Voyage Out

8 ways to start a deeper conversation.

Contains spoilers for the entire book.

Discussion topics

Topic 01 of 08

What does the voyage on the Euphrosyne begin to awaken in Rachel?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.

What does the voyage on the Euphrosyne begin to awaken in Rachel?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of Helen Ambrose's decision to take Rachel in hand?
- Why has Rachel been kept so innocent?
What does the brief visit from Richard and Clarissa Dalloway leave behind?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you feel about Richard's kiss?
- What does Rachel learn from it?
What does the hotel society at Santa Marina show about the English abroad?
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- Which guest did you find most interesting?
- What does the dance reveal?
What draws Rachel and Terence together?
Keep the conversation going
- What does Terence want to know about the lives of women?
- What did you make of how they talk about love?
What role does Hirst play, with his sharp intelligence and awkwardness?
Keep the conversation going
- Is he a rival, a friend, or something else?
- What does Rachel learn from him?
What does music mean to Rachel, compared to words?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does she prefer playing to talking?
- How does Terence feel about it?
What happens on the expedition up the river?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you feel about the engagement scene in the jungle?
- What do the villagers they meet see in them?
How did you respond to Rachel's illness and death?
Keep the conversation going
- Why do you think Woolf ends the voyage this way?
- How do the others go on afterwards?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.