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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In letter 52, what does Valmont accuse Madame de Tourvel of slandering?
(a) The concepts of friendship and trust.
(b) The generosity of Valmont's aunt.
(c) Valmont's reputation.
(d) Her own reputation.

2. What does Madame de Tourvel tell Madame de Volanges she will do to get rid of Valmont?
(a) She will blackmail and humiliate him.
(b) She will fake her own death.
(c) She will ask him to leave his aunt's estate.
(d) She will leave Madame de Rosemonde's estate.

3. What does Madame de Volanges discover about her daughter?
(a) She has been spending her inheritance foolishly.
(b) She has been corresponding with Danceny.
(c) She has been disrespectful to God.
(d) She has been having sex with Valmont.

4. How did Laclos' contemporary critics feel his novel would impact society?
(a) The novel would offer scrupulous moral lessons.
(b) The novel would showcase French literary talent.
(c) The novel would corrupt more people than it saved.
(d) The novel would challenge the political regime.

5. Against whom does Valmont warn Merteuil in letter 70?
(a) Azolan.
(b) Prévan.
(c) Danceny.
(d) Bertram.

6. Where is Madame de Tourvel staying while her husband is away?
(a) At a convent.
(b) At a home she owns in Paris.
(c) With Madame de Rosemonde in the country.
(d) With Madame de Volanges in Paris.

7. How do today's readers of Laclos interpret his novel?
(a) They find that each character has definite motivations.
(b) They always apply Laclos' personal history to the meaning of the novel.
(c) They cannot agree on the ambiguous meanings and motivations of the characters.
(d) They neglect several characters and only focus on one or two.

8. With which philosophical movement of the 18th century is Laclos associated?
(a) The Age of Realism.
(b) The French Victorian period.
(c) The French Enlightenment.
(d) The Late Renaissance.

9. With whom does Valmont conspire to trick and humiliate a new acquaintance?
(a) Émilie.
(b) Cécile.
(c) Merteuil.
(d) Madame de Volanges.

10. What event does Valmont tell Madame de Tourvel secured his love for her?
(a) Meeting her for the first time.
(b) Hearing of her piety from Madame de Rosemonde.
(c) Looking into her eyes on a starlit evening.
(d) His charitable actions toward the peasants.

11. What message does the Publisher's Foreword give?
(a) It offers a comic summary of the novel.
(b) It encourages readers to thoroughly enjoy the novel
(c) It asserts the reality and truth of the novel's events.
(d) It warns the readers that this is a dangerous novel.

12. What does Valmont say is notable about the man pursuing Merteuil?
(a) He ranks high in the King's court.
(b) He is well endowed.
(c) He is ugly, but nevertheless a great seducer.
(d) Through skilled conversation, he can get anyone to admit to anything.

13. How does Valmont spy on Madame de Tourvel?
(a) He uses a listening device in the room next to hers.
(b) He peeps through the keyhole of her room.
(c) He hides behind a tapestry in her room.
(d) He climbs a balcony to look through her window.

14. What advice does Valmont give to Madame de Tourvel?
(a) Tell others of his love for Valmont, and they will understand.
(b) Succumb to desire and she will pay the price.
(c) Love, and her fears will vanish.
(d) Desert her husband, in order to marry Valmont.

15. In his other writings, what view did Laclos take of women?
(a) Women were corruptors of society.
(b) Women should not be enslaved by a male-dominated society.
(c) A woman's honor was tied to their virginity.
(d) Women should be seen or heard.

Short Answer Questions

1. Into which main form(s) was __Les Liaisons Dangereuses_ reproduced in the 20th century?

2. In letter 15, what does Valmont call Merteuil about her attentions to her current lover?

3. How does Coward recommend the novel should be criticized?

4. What does Danceny's letter 28 accuse Cécile of?

5. In letter 5, how does Merteuil react to Valmont's object of desire?

(see the answer keys)

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