The Line of Beauty Reading and Analysis Guide
Questions for Analysis and Discussion of Hollinghurst's Novel
1. Hollinghurst’s novel references the work of author Henry James and composer Richard Strauss throughout the story to represent the pursuits and passions of Nick Guest and Gerald Fedden respectively. Why do you think Hollinghurst chose these particular artists and what do they imply about the characters they represent?
2. Cat Fedden has an ambiguous mental illness--sometimes referred to as a number of phobias, other times diagnosed as manic/depressive disorder. Her illness creates an unusual bond between she and Nick through shared secrets and Nick's felt need to protect Cat from herself. What do you think this mental illness is meant to represent about Cat (why is it this disease and not schizophrenia or another illness)? How does her illness play into her role in eventually telling the truth about Gerald's and Nick's affairs to the media?
3. Thomas C. Foster writes in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor that sex in novels is rarely just about sex--it is symbolic of some other theme the author is addressing in his work (2003). Compare and contrast the sexual relationships of Nick (coming-of-age homosexuality), Toby (sexually incompatible with Sophie), Wani (seeks to involve a third-party in his sex with Nick), and Gerald (infidelity) as these relationships are an element of Hollinghurst's themes.
4. The idea of the "Line of Beauty" is repeated throughout the work and is used in reference to architectural elements, lines of cocaine, and the countours of the physiques of the men that Nick pursues. Why does Nick pursue beauty in his physical surroundings and relationships? What does this reveal about him as a character?
5. Hollinghurst uses scant dialogue in The Line of Beauty; the dialogue that is included is done so in an unconventional manner—asides inserted as parenthetical statements and dialogue from multiple speakers within the same paragraph. Why do you think Hollinghurst chose to use dialogue in this manner? How would the book be different if there were more dialogue?
6. Cat makes reference to the fact that the assignment of rooms at the French vacation home is done purposefully. "'This used to be be my room. It's where they put the children,'" (p. 298). Does the fact that Nick is always placed in the farthest room have a significance? Is there meaning in that Nick does not own his own home, renting from the Feddens and sleeping over at Wani’s apartment?
7. Throughout the novel, there are numerous references made to charicatures, such as Cat drawing a caricature picture of Wani (p. 304) and a caricature of Gerald hanging in the kitchen photo gallery (p. 361). Is there a significance to the presence of the drawings—are any of the characters in the novel intended to be charicatures? If so, of what?
8. Nick never tells of seeing Gerald and Penny together in Barwick, he feels that he is unable to share the secret of Leo’s death with Cat on election night, and he refuses to share the truth about Wani’s illness until it has already come out in the media. Is Nick correct when he says that secrets are impersonal? Why?
9. At the end of the book, as Nick is looking around Gerald and Rachel’s bedroom, remembering the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre, he quotes the line, “I hold it ever / Virtue and cunning were endowments greater / Than nobleness and riches...” (p. 431). What is the significance of this line to the overall theme of The Line of Beauty ?
10. Nick, Leo, and Wani’s parents all have different reactions to their sons’ homosexuality—concern, denial, and deceit. What forces influence the parents’ reactions? How do the attitudes of the parents affect the behaviors and attitudes of their children?
References:
Hollinghurst, A. (2004). The Line of Beauty. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Foster, T.C. (2003). How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
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