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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Félicité's first job as a girl?

2. What gift does M. Bourais bring for the children?

3. Who struggles the most when Paul goes away?

4. Who reads to Félicité for the first time in her life?

5. The narrator describes Félicité as being made out of what material?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do you think Félicité means when she says of Victor's death that "'It doesn't matter a bit, not to them it doesn't'"?

2. Does it seem important that Félicité asks Fabu's forgiveness before she dies?

3. Why do you think the narrator conceals the real cause of Loulou's death?

4. Do you think that Félicité's final vision is religious or delusional? Does it matter?

5. What is your impression of Mme. Simon?

6. What objects stand out in Félicité's collection of objects and what relationships can you find between them?

7. What are some examples of times when Félicité has been abused or disregarded? Describe them and explain how she is being treated poorly.

8. Explain the irony of Félicité's dismissal from her first job.

9. Describe and provide an analysis of Mme. Aubain's reaction when Félicité tells her that she hasn't heard from Victor in six months.

10. Do you think it's significant that Félicité misses Virginie's death because she goes back to lock up in case of thieves?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Félicité is on her way to ship Loulou to the taxidermist, she is struck in the face with a whip. How does her reaction to this event mirror her behavior in other parts of the story? You should discuss at least three specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the relationship between Félicité and Mme. Aubain. The culminating event in their relationship is, of course, the moment of embrace and equality, but several other things happen between them that helps to place each of them in a certain relationship to the world around them. Write an essay that considers the way that Félicité and Mme. Aubain's relationship helps to ground each of them in a clear relationship to their world. Some details you might want to look at are Mme. Aubain's treatment of Félicité's actual family and Félicité's sense that it was wrong for Mme. Aubain to die before she did.

Essay Topic 3

The most crucial moment in Félicité's relationship with Mme. Aubain is when the two of them embrace. Analyze this scene and Félicité's reaction to the experience. How does this change her relationship with Mme. Aubain? Why is it so important to Félicité? What impact does it have on the story generally?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,550 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample