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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the section on absence, to what early experience does the author link the subject's feelings about the absent lover?
(a) To the subject's first disappointment in love.
(b) To the father's absence.
(c) To the mother's absence.
(d) To the child's need for approval.

2. What does the lover seek to "read" on the other's body?
(a) The cause of his desire.
(b) Unexpressed thoughts.
(c) The meaning of beauty.
(d) Evidence of imperfection.

3. In the section on agony, to what does the narrator compare the steady progress of the emotional state he experiences?
(a) To the story of Tristan and Isolde.
(b) To Gide riding a train.
(c) To Werther feeling a sense of hopelessness.
(d) To Socrates feeling the cold of the hemlock rising in his body.

4. In "To Be Ascetic," the term "askesis" is associated with which of the following acts?
(a) Foreign travel.
(b) Self-punishment and gentle retreat.
(c) Complete rejection of society.
(d) Meditation.

5. "The Other's Body" divides the other's body into two parts: what are they?
(a) The imagined body and the actual body.
(b) Flesh and spirit.
(c) The emotional and the physical.
(d) The body proper such as the skin, eyes, and the voice.

6. What does the "fulfillment" or comblement of the title refer to?
(a) Fulfilling one's childhood dreams.
(b) The will to complete fulfillment in love that exceeds language.
(c) Self-actualization that bypasses the need for the other.
(d) Feelings of sadness over the impossibility of fulfillment.

7. Which of the following terms is a definition of "atopos"?
(a) Unclassifiable.
(b) Indolent.
(c) Stereotype.
(d) Untranslatable.

8. Which of the following is a definition of the word "laetitia," as presented in the section by that name?
(a) A forbidden pleasure.
(b) A lifelong pleasure.
(c) A subtle pleasure.
(d) A lively pleasure.

9. In this section, how is the term "karma" defined?
(a) As nirvana, which the lover hopes to attain.
(b) As suffering, which the lover hopes to inflict on the other.
(c) As causality, which the lover wishes to escape from.
(d) As nothingness, which the lover hopes to attain.

10. Which of the following phrases is an example of tautology, as presented by the author?
(a) I love you because you are absent.
(b) The adorable is what is adorable.
(c) The adorable is what is impossible.
(d) I adore you because you are fascinating.

11. The section titled "All the delights of the earth"/Fulfillment is a quotation from which of the following authors?
(a) Nietzsche.
(b) Ruysbroek.
(c) Sade.
(d) Novalis.

12. When the narrator states that "the other whom I love...is atopos," what does he mean?
(a) The other is unfaithful.
(b) The other is unobtainable.
(c) The other is a stereotype.
(d) The other is unique.

13. According to this section in the text, what is the best reaction to the other's suffering?
(a) Sympathy, delicacy, and reassurance.
(b) Empathy, advice, and affection.
(c) Compassion, moral support, and physical contact.
(d) Detachment, delicacy, and compassion.

14. How does the lover feel about himself when confronted with the other's atopia?
(a) He feels depressed.
(b) He feels himself to be atopos.
(c) He feels himself to be classified, like everyone else.
(d) He feels creative.

15. How does the lover see the other once he has established the other's atopia?
(a) As unobtainable.
(b) As the perfect lover.
(c) As an imperfect lover.
(d) As needing his protection.

Short Answer Questions

1. What failure does the author describe in the section entitled "Adorable?"

2. According to the author, what does the term "adorable" represent, or stand in for, in the lover's discourse?

3. What is the slightly longer characterization the author uses to describe the different sections of the book?

4. In Dark Glasses/To Hide, what main subject does the author address?

5. According to the author, what is always involved in every discourse on love, whether philosophical, gnomic, lyric, or novelistic?

(see the answer keys)

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