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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 reminds Margaret that she is owed her brother's inheritance?

2. What does Margaret say is the main thing influencing her desire to have James stop with his affairs?

3. Who is John Stuart?

4. What happens to Margaret's second child soon after being born?

5. Who did James IV originally wish to marry?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are some people upset about how quickly Margaret married Angus?

2. How does James react to learning that Janet Kennedy has a lover 25 years her senior?

3. Why does James finally agree to marry Margaret?

4. Why is Margaret secretly pleased after her first-born son dies?

5. How does Henry respond to Margaret's letter requesting that he not invade Scotland shortly after James dies in battle?

6. What does Margaret have James do for Albany upon his arrival to Scotland?

7. What does Margaret's title of "Regent" mean?

8. Why is Margaret opposed to James bringing in his illegitimate children to the castle?

9. How does the young Henry feel about Margaret's planned marriage to James?

10. Why does James think it's a perfectly fine idea to bring his illegitimate children to the castle to live?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose the point when Margaret finally becomes her own person in the novel and discuss when this moment is, how the reader knows this transformation has taken place, and at least two literary devices Plaidy uses to convey to the reader that such a transformation has occurred.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how childbirth is portrayed in "The Thistle and the Rose." Is it conveyed as a positive experience for the women and men? How does it change the reader's opinion of women who have given birth, particularly those who have gone through difficult births or even died in childbirth? What literary devices does Plaidy use to convey the experience of childbirth to a modern reader reading about childbirth during this time in history?

Essay Topic 3

Religion plays an important, if behind-the-scenes, role in "The Thistle and the Rose." Discuss the role religion plays in the text and how Plaidy conveys it throughout the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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