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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 does Hortensia reveal became of her first pregnancy?

2. Marion views architecture as a way of doing what?

3. How much did the Von Struikers initially purchase their land for?

4. What does Hortensia reveal to Marion at the start of Chapter Sixteen?

5. In Hortensia’s story, why do white women think that Zippy was kidnapped?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Marion surprised by Hortensia’s interaction with Innes?

2. Why does Hortensia mock Marion’s attraction to Frikkie?

3. How do Hortensia and Marion’s perspectives on housekeepers differ?

4. Why does Hortensia slap Marion?

5. How does Hortensia’s confession about Peter’s illegitimate child bring the women closer together?

6. Why did Hortensia never confront Peter about the affair?

7. Why does Marion share the story about Alberta?

8. What causes Hortensia to “begin to hate”?

9. What was Marion’s teacher “Queen Victoria” attempting to educate her students regarding?

10. Why is the fact that Hortensia had an abortion significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the origins of Marion and Hortensia’s feud? Point to examples from the novel that indicate how their mutual loathing developed and why it became so fierce.

Essay Topic 2

How does South Africa’s history of Apartheid impact the plot of The Woman Next Door? In what ways does this history impact the setting? In what ways does it impact the relationships between the characters?

Essay Topic 3

How does the theme of “design” function in the novel? In what ways is it a focus of both Marion and Hortensia’s lives?

(see the answer keys)

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