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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the narrator wonder about Shakespeare as she looks for answers in his tragedies?
(a) How old he was.
(b) His state of mind when writing.
(c) Whether he was in love.
(d) Who his wife was.

2. What is the source of the narrator's income?
(a) A divorce settlement.
(b) An inheritance.
(c) A writing job.
(d) A seamstress job.

3. The narrator claims to be seeking "the essential oil of _________" in the museum.
(a) Truth.
(b) History.
(c) Myrrh.
(d) Love.

4. While thinking about the Professor's work, what does the narrator find herself doing?
(a) Crying.
(b) Falling asleep.
(c) Tearing the pages of a book.
(d) Drawing a picture of the Professor.

5. What year is this story set in?
(a) 1965.
(b) 1920.
(c) 1860.
(d) 1900.

6. Which word best describes the food served at the Fernham dinner?
(a) Expensive.
(b) Plain.
(c) Exotic.
(d) Inedible.

7. In the fictional tale of Shakespeare's sister, how old is she when she leaves home?
(a) Almost twenty.
(b) Eighteen.
(c) Fifteen.
(d) Not yet seventeen.

8. To what city does Shakespeare's fictional sister set out after leaving home?
(a) Paris.
(b) London.
(c) Rome.
(d) Dallas.

9. The narrator finds that the woman "pervades _________ from cover to cover;"
(a) Poetry.
(b) The news.
(c) History.
(d) Romance.

10. What is one thing the narrator compares the big city she is visiting to?
(a) A circus.
(b) A black hole.
(c) A retreat.
(d) A machine.

11. What color is "the light of emotion?"
(a) Red.
(b) White.
(c) Blue.
(d) Yellow.

12. What does the narrator say about Shakespeare's mother?
(a) She was an heiress.
(b) She was ugly.
(c) She was cruel.
(d) She was overbearing.

13. The narrator wants to know, among other things, why woman are __________ than/to men.
(a) Smarter.
(b) Poorer.
(c) Richer.
(d) Inferior.

14. What emotion sneaks up on the narrator while she is reading the Professor's work?
(a) Sadness.
(b) Anger.
(c) Pity.
(d) Jealousy.

15. During which month does the narrator visit the two colleges?
(a) October.
(b) April.
(c) May.
(d) January.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year were women granted the right to vote?

2. What writer does the narrator list as one whose self-consciousness the reader is aware of?

3. According to the narrator, which animal lives the longest of all animals?

4. What does the narrator say that the women before her were doing instead of earning money?

5. According to the narrator, what animal has the most eyes of all the animals?

(see the answer keys)

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