Edgar Huntly: Or, Memoirs of a Sleepwalker

Letters are a key aspect of Edgar Huntly. How does the epistolary structure of the novel—Edgar writing to Mary and the three short letters between Edgar and Sarsefield at the end—mirror the letters within the text, such as Waldegrave’s correspondence? How does the letter form determine its content?

There are many passages about the landscape of rural Pennsylvania throughout the novel. How is nature portrayed? How does it impact the lives of people?

Hands are an important motif in Edgar Huntly. How do hands develop the theme of authorship?

The narrators, Clithero and Edgar, are unreliable. How does the reader know they should not be trusted?

Brown uses several caves as symbols. What do the different caves represent? How do caves change characters?

A classic gothic trope is doubling and doppelgängers. Arthur and Euphemia, as twins, are the most literal examples of this trope, but other doubles include Edgar and Clithero; Euphemia and Clarice; and Euphemia and Mary. How would you compare the different pairs of characters?

One common piece of advice for writers is to avoid the passive voice, but it permeates Edgar Huntly. How does the passive voice develop the themes of the novel?

The panther, the Native Americans, and Clithero are all described as “savage,” while Sarsefield is set up as their cultivated counterpart. Is Edgar more or less savage than his foil, Clithero? What diction, imagery, and/or comparisons are used in savage characterization?