Socratic Seminar - Picnic at Hanging Rock

1. Do the main characters change by the end of the book? Do they grow or
mature? Do they learn something about themselves and how the world works?

● Mrs Appleyard
- In the beginning of the book, Mrs Appleyard had a very strong exterior and a guard
that she never let down. She was obsessive towards the students and the college,
making sure that nothing went out of her control. This is probably because she is
trying to escape her dark past and not let anyone see through her insecurities and
this “tough exterior”.
- Throughout the book, we see her mental wellbeing start to deteriorate. Despite not
being present at the rock, she becomes heavily wrapped in the issue as the
headmistress, and it takes a harsh toll on her and we see her start to let her guard
down a little bit. We see her caring less about her looks, which would have never
occurred in the beginning chapters of the book, but I wouldn’t say in a good way
either.
- This is not caused by her character maturing and accepting that the world works out
of her control, but instead it is caused by her inability to withstand the stress and
pressure of the situation.
- Hence, the only way out that she knew to do was to commit suicide, which I don’t
think really shows much growth in her character as it basically tells the readers that
she is one to avoid problems instead of assessing and handling them.
- (She tells them off when they want to quit the college, such as Irma and Ms Lumley
to whom she told she never even needed, showing her large ego that always makes
her want to seem better and like she does not need anybody else)

● Irma Leopold
- In the beginning, Irma always followed Miranda and never really had confidence in
herself. She never stood up for herself, instead she conformed to Mrs Appleyard’s
cruel ways and just obliged to her orders despite being unhappy about it.
- I think that from her experiences at the rock, she started to learn more about the
world. After being confined in the college’s environment for so long, what happened
to her at the rock opened her up to a brand new chapter of her life, she began to gain
experiences and meet new people such as Mike. She starts learning more about
herself and builds up her own personality instead of only being a basic student at the
college
- . I think the arc that she goes through allowed her to be braver and have more
confidence and pride in herself, shown in the end when she finally stands up to Mrs
Appleyard, telling her that she isn’t scared anymore.
- This shows that she finally realises that she has been mistreated and has finally
grown enough as a person to be able to stand up and finally rebel to someone who
controlled her for so long.
2. Talk about the book's structure. Does the author use a single viewpoint or
shifting viewpoints? Why might the author have chosen to tell the story the
way he or she did—and what difference does it make in the way you read or
understand it?

● The author uses shifting viewpoints

● The use of multiple perspectives instead of one gives the reader a lot more insight
into the plot. This allows for a better understanding of what is happening but still
having that mysterious aspect to the book.

● Since the characters are very different from another, it also gives multiple
perspectives of those in a higher class and lower class, providing readers with
multiple ways the different characters think and act, making the situation feel even
bigger and wider than if it were to be written from one perspective, and as if it had
unfolded so much that now a lot of people and viewpoints are involved.

● It also allows for some dramatic irony as it gives readers more knowledge than any
other character.

3. What main ideas—themes—does the author explore? Does the author use
symbols to reinforce the main ideas?

● Mystery and the Unknown

Of course, a large part of the book revolves around the mystery that occurs at the
rock. At the end, the case is left unsolved, giving no closure to the reader and making
what actually happened unknown.

● Wealth and class

During this era, people cared a lot more about wealth and social status than the
person themselves. Keeping up an image was extremely significant in giving yourself
a place in the community. People of higher wealth were treated better while those
who weren’t were treated worse. This is shown between the relationship of Albert
and Mike.

● Freedom
Rock was a symbol for the girls being set free from the college

● Repression
-Repression of the girls in the college
-Repression of Mrs Appleyard’s feelings

● Colonialism
The girls “disrupting” the rock
4. Nature and the outdoors feature prominently in the novel. How does Lindsay
use descriptions of nature / the outdoors to depict the relationship/attitude of
some of the characters to nature?

● The forces of nature are far too powerful for the characters
● They tried to take control of the land but at the end the rock controlled them, showing
the theme of colonialism
● Nature was a symbol of freedom for the girls, they were in a way set free from the
college.
● At first the girls were mesmerised, the rock made them feel happy and safe, but as
they started wanting to wander around and venture the rock, bad things start
happening to them
● Albert knew and respected the rock, nothing bad happened to him
● Mrs Appleyard was very isolated from nature, shown in her very rigid and static
character contrasting an abstract dynamic theme in nature and the rock.

5. What are your thoughts on the ‘missing chapter’ (Chapter 18) of the novel? Do
you feel that Lindsay and her publishers made the right choice in omitting it
from the novel? What does it contribute to the novel and the reader’s
experience of it, and what does it take away?

● Reduces risk of audience being disappointed in the ending, especially because of the
very long build up where the readers are expecting an ending that satisfies them and
rounds of the story well

● The ending does not make sense. It kind of takes away the theme of the unknown
from the book and it just seems very out of place. I think that not knowing the ending
is better than getting the ending published in the last chapter.

● Rounds off the book, which has very prevalent themes of mystery, and I think that
lack of closure just makes the book make more sense as one where its
understanding is “some things just don’t get solved.”

● The ending is up to interpretation and imagination of the readers. It makes it

subjective towards the various types of audience reading the book and widens the
target audience range.

6. Despite being the focus of much of the novel, Hanging Rock remains a
mysterious entity. How does Lindsay portray the mystery surrounding the
Rock? Do you think it is merely an inanimate geological feature, or is it
something more?

● Why’d they bring the students to the rock??

● Instead of talking about the rock itself as a mysterious entity, she talks about things
that occur in the rock, making it seem as if it is just a setting where supernatural
things occur.
● I think that the rock itself isn’t the supernatural thing, it’s the things that happen at the
rock that makes it supernatural and the factor of the lack of knowledge the characters
have surrounding the rock just adds to the mystery surrounding it.
7. Social class is a prevalent idea which recurs throughout the novel. Discuss
some of the ways in which the novel explores or even critiques the
conventions of the British class system. Consider the varying treatment of the
Appleyard students, the
relationships between servants and masters, the friendship between Albert and
Mike, etc.

● Irma and Sara

Irma, an heiress coming from a wealthy family is treated a lot better than Sara, an
orphan. This is shown in the contrast between the letters sent towards Irma’s family
and Sara’s guardian from Mrs Appleyard. For the content itself, the letter written to
Sara is merely a reminder to pay the fees. The manner in which she wrote the book
also contrasts. The letter to Irma is written in a much more polite way while the one to
Sara’s guardian is more to-the-point and you can see that there isn’t much respect.

● Albert and Mike

Albert is illiterate and is a stable boy while Mike is shown to have friends from
Cambridge and have garden parties. However, they are really the only ones who
have handled the social status barrier well and have a genuine friendship despite
differences in class.

8. Far-flung colonies like Australia provided an opportunity for people to leave

their past behind and ‘reinvent’ their identities once they moved there. How
can this idea be applied to the characters Mrs Appleyard and Michael
Fitzhubert?

● Mrs Appleyard is an Englishwoman who fled from England to Australia. She

attempted to leave her dark past with her husband and stuff in the UK and have a
new chance at life in Australia. I think that her past traumatic experiences gave her a
lot of insecurities, hence after moving she decided to reinvent herself by putting on a
tough exterior to hide her insecurities and past.

● She was controlling and had a lack of skill and knowledge in Australia, which might
have contributed to the point of why she decided to bring her students to hanging
rock despite the mysterious occurrences that have happened there. These factors
and issues risk the girls’ lives.

● Michael left the UK and went to Australia to live with his Aunt and Uncle who became
his caregivers. He left all his emotional baggage in the UK. I think that he was
confined in such a ‘royal’ environment as he grew up in a wealthy family, hence his
decision to risk his life to help find the girls can be seen as both his selflessness,
contrasting to the regular stereotypes of wealthy people, or maybe just his inner
desire for adventure after years of living a very regimented and scheduled life, he just
wanted something exciting, something that gave him a rush and adrenaline. I think
the fact that he really does not have anything to lose because he basically left his
whole life behind and he’s on his own now, so he is more reckless and does not
really care about what happens, as he has a “nothing to lose” mentality.