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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. Who is visiting Villa Venus, causing it to be overrun with police?

2. How does Lucette say she feels when she runs into Van?

3. What department does Van study in at Kingston University, Mayne, in the Fall of 1892?

4. What word does Greg seem to like to use?

5. Where does Van keep Ada's communications for fifty years?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Marina's last days, why is Van planning a trip to America?

2. What does Van plan to do in the duel?

3. Why does Van think he is sterile?

4. What does Ada's letter say she will do if Van doesn't allow her to come live with him?

5. What does Van do after leaving Demon?

6. What is Cordula's conversation like?

7. What plan does Lucette propose to Van?

8. What does Van give to Lucette in exchange for the name of the man who wants to marry her?

9. What does Van write about in his unsent letter to Ada?

10. What exercise in memory does Van attempt, which he also gives to his patients?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss sexuality in the novel.

1) How and why is sexuality related to youth in the novel? How does sexuality change with age?

2) How does sexuality relate to love and affection in the novel? What do the characters expect from sex, and what does sex actually provide?

3) What role does sexual decadence, especially represented by the Villa Venus brothels, play in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

The novel is filled with reflections of reality through art, such as films and photographs. Discuss these elements of the novel.

1) How do reflections of reality in the novel, like photographs or films, differ from reality itself? How do they create reality through memory?

2) What significance is there to Marina and later Ada's careers as actresses? How does the mimicking of reality in acting affect the characters?

3) How does the governess's screenplay reflect reality at Ardis Hall? How is it modified and changed in the process of production? What does this process of change show about imitations of reality?

Essay Topic 3

Nabokov is known for wordplay, and part of this is using significant names or manipulating names. Discuss the names of characters and places in the novel.

1) What meanings are put onto the characters' names by their association with other words? For example, what do Demon, Aqua, and Marina's names mean? What meanings are put on "Ada" and "Van"?

2) Discuss the name of Ardis Hall and what meanings and associations it has in the novel.

3) How do characters' names change in different contexts? What do these name changes signify?

(see the answer keys)

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