Discussion Questions

"The Thing in the Forest"
1. Was the thing in the forest real? Did Primrose and Penny's experience really happen?
2. What do you think about Primrose and Penny's parallel lives? Childhood? Career Choices?
3. It wasn't revealed until close to the end of the story that Alys was eaten by the thing in forest, but what was her significance? Did this surprise you?

“Body Art”
4. Why do you think Damian gave into Daisy? What was his attraction when we could really tell that he wanted to be with Martha?
5. What are your thoughts on the end where Damian, Daisy, and Martha are in the delivery room and Daisy is holding their new daughter? It was evident that she wanted the baby and to be a part of her life as well as Damian. What do you think came of the situation?
6. Damian frequently refers to his “lapsed religion.” How does this shape him as a character?
7. Discuss the various ways that Damian has detached relationships. Also explain why you think he is so distant with those closest to him.

"The Stone Woman"
8. What did you think about Ines gradually becoming a stone woman? How did this affect her?
9. The stone cutter helped Ines. He took her to his land where the stones were alive. What did you think about the ending? Ines was left there. What do you think became of the situation?
10. How do the stones define or help the reader to understand the depth of Ines’s metamorphosis? Hint: See context
11. During her transformation, Ines comments that she is not like Lot’s wife (the biblical woman who turned to salt) and does not relate to being a “pillar of salt” (140). For those familiar with this biblical story, what makes Ines different from the biblical woman. For those not familiar, the story is found in Genesis 19 if you would like to read it.

"Raw Material"
12. The teacher in "Raw Material had taken a liking to Cicely Fox's writing. Why do you think he favored her over the other students?
13.Did the ending surprise you when the teacher found Cicely Fox dead? What do you think caused her to be killed? How did this affect the teacher?
14. How do you think Miss Fox would have reacted to the news of winning a writing contest she was involuntarily entered in?
15. Jack says that “you should always respect other people’s privacy. Creative writing teachers had something in common with doctors” (160). How does Jack Smollett compare to Damian in “Body Art”?

"The Pink Ribbon"
16. What is the significance of the title "The Pink Ribbon"?
17. Do you think James was ashamed of his wife Mado?
18. What did Dido represent? Was she a real person or a ghost/doppelganger (see context)?
19. When James asks Dido when he will see her again, she replies “That depends . . . you know. That depends” (253). What do you think she means by this? Will James “choose” to see her again?

Overall Questions
20. What are some paradoxes you noticed from the book? Also, feel free to elaborate on the ones posted under “Byatt’s Paradoxes and Ambiguous Themes.”
21. Discuss ambiguous themes from the book or elaborate on the definition and connection to the book?
22. In “A Stone Woman”, Byatt writes that “life runs in very narrow stereotyped channels, until it is interrupted by accidents or visions” (99). How is this idea played out in each of the stories in the collection?
23. When considering the each story in the collection, how is the title “Little Black Book of Stories” appropriate or inappropriate?
24. Do you feel that each story is connected by a common theme? If so, please elaborate. If not, please explain why you feel the stories lack commonalities.