Essay Questions

How does the novel portray friendship and jealousy through the character of Eloise?

The novel takes a different approach to jealousy in regard to friendship through Eloise. It normalizes it as a part of being a human being. After her best friend Penelope got married, Eloise felt something lacking in her life, she began to fear the thought of remaining alone, and even though she was happy for her friend, she felt that she was left behind. Eloise comments on her belief that the two of them will remain spinsters together, or even that she, Eloise, will marry first, but it turned out to be different. Her jealousy didn’t come from hatred and contempt for her friend, but from her own fears and insecurities.

How does the novel portray depression through the character of Marina?

The portrayal of depression in the novel is questionable, as it focuses on depression as an inherent part of Marina-Eloise’s comments on how she never laughed and was always serious, instead of dealing with life’s circumstances that led to Marina’s depression. It is barely mentioned that she lost the love of her life, Philip’s brother, and was forced to marry Philip, a man she barely knew and didn’t love. It is also shortly mentioned that her depression intensified after she gave birth. All these things are understandable reasons to cause depression, which doesn’t mean that she was a person born melancholic.

What does the title of the novel reveal about it?

The title of the novel “To Sir Philip, With Love” immediately reveals that the romance in the novel will predominantly make its start through letters. Letters have a deep significance in the novel, as forms of communication, tools of an unlikely love and, for some, the only way to truly give words to feelings-Sir Philip expressing how he truly feels about Eloise at the end through letters.