I Capture the Castle

Why are there three different notebooks in this novel? What makes each notebook special or distinct? More generally, what did you think of the way I Capture the Castle was told? Did it make the story easier or more fun to read—or otherwise more enjoyable? Explain. How did the form of this novel influence your impression of Cassandra? How did it affect your take on all the other characters?

This book has much to do with being creative, with thinking and living in the world like an artist. In the first paragraph, in fact, Cassandra confesses that she used to write poetry. Why did she give it up? What are some images or experiences she faces throughout the novel that remind her of poems she used to write, or make her wish she could write new poems? Also, consider the role played in this novel by Cassandra’s father, a writer compared to James Joyce. How is his inability to write a follow-up to his initial book caricatured—and how is it treated more seriously?

Think of the different types of art we encounter in this novel. What specific works of music, literature, and painting did you recognize? Were any of them familiar to you—and if so, how did they enhance your reading experience? What styles of art and literature are mentioned? Discuss why the appreciation of, or familiarity with, various artworks figures so prominently in the narrative

Most reviews of this book point out not only Cassandra’s winning and endearing personality but also her wit. What is wit? How does it apply to our heroine? What about Cassandra strikes you as especially bright or clever? Where and how does she employ wit, for example, in her depiction of her stepmother Topaz? Where else in the novel does Cassandra come across as particularly smart?

But Cassandra is more than clever: she is highly observant and sensitive. Near the end of the book, for instance, on page 343, she pauses her story to ask: “Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?” What did you as a reader make of such asides? Did they bring you closer to Cassandra or her story? Did they make the novel more realistic to you, or more likable or enjoyable? Given Cassandra’s wish to someday write a novel, why do you think she is so keen on ideas, feelings, books, and paintings? Why is she always so interested in what other people are doing? And why, on page 339, does she tell Simon that she does not want to go to college?

As a work of fiction with an adolescent protagonist who both experiences and tries to understand the world around her, I Capture the Castle is a superb example of the coming-of-age novel. How much time actually passes from the start of this book to the finish? And how much growing-up does Cassandra experience within this same time frame? Do these two measurements of yours seem incongruent or surprising? Why do you think this novel takes place at precisely the phase in Cassandra’s life between childhood and adulthood?

As noted above, Cassandra is an exceptionally bright seventeen-year-old. On page 147, for instance, she remembers discovering at a young age that her father sometimes finds beauty saddening. “Once when I was quite little I asked father why this was and he explained that it was due to our knowledge of beauty’s evanescence, which reminds us that we ourselves shall die. Then he said I was probably too young to understand him; but I understood perfectly.” Identify other instances in the novel (there are many) where any character underestimates or downplays Cassandra’s intelligence because of her young age. In what other ways does Cassandra’s age influence her experiences in I Capture the Castle? How especially is her relationship with Simon affected?

I Capture the Castle is a love story—actually, it is a few different love stories. Stephen is in love with Cassandra, Cassandra is in love with Simon, Simon is in love with Rose, and there are even a few additional cases of infatuation involving secondary characters like Leda and Aubrey. Identify all of these background scenarios. How did they influence your reading of this novel? Were they as interesting, revealing, or important to you as were the love affairs of the main characters? Also, consider the many different kinds of love depicted in this book—adolescent, familial, unrequited, paternal, sisterly, and so on.

If love is this novel’s main concern, the stage on which this theme is played out is family life. But the novel is really about two families, the Mortmains and Cottons. How are these families geographically, socially, culturally, and circumstantially intertwined? How are they similar? And different?

On another level, I Capture the Castle is a story about how English people see Americans and how Americans see the English. What did you learn about these similar but different countries from reading this book?

Why do you think Cassandra so often reflects on the linguistic differences between British and American English? Amused at times, confused at others, she records in her diary the separate terms Britons and Americans have for the same things on several occasions. Look again at a few of these descriptions, and point out which words are being defined and why.

History and geography are prominent throughout this story, since Cassandra is clearly fascinated by both concepts. How does her love of the castle’s history influence Cassandra’s character and disposition?

What special memories does Cassandra have of the day her father found and financed the castle (Chapter III)? How and why do these memories stay with her as the plot of "I Capture the Castle" progresses?

Who winds up with whom at the end of this love story? Were you surprised by how it ended? Why or why not? Were you satisfied with the ending, or disappointed?

This book, which was first published in 1948, is widely considered a classic of its kind. Would you agree?