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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. Rather than paint, what does Mr. Pontellier think his wife should be doing?

2. What is Madame Antoine cooking for dinner?

3. What had Edna attempted to learn all summer?

4. Mrs. Pontellier talks about:

5. Edna wonders how many years she has slept. Robert says:

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first impression the author gives of Mr. Pontellier?

2. Describe Edna's feelings when she learns Robert is leaving for Mexico.

3. In Chapter 11, Edna defies her husband. Is she victorious?

4. Given all of the time and attention and affection from Robert and now his sudden departure, what kind of person is he? Do you think he is different from the man you first read about? Has he been deceptive? Is he fearful?

5. Why do you think Robert manages to get Mademoiselle Reisz to play for Edna?

6. Why doe Edna feel so comfortable in Madame Antoine's house right away?

7. Why does Edna cry so hard after her husband scolds her for being what he considers a neglectful mother?

8. Once Edna has returned to the cottage, she finds herself alone and contemplates her life. Does she feel that she has changed since arriving at the Grande Isle? Does she understand how these changes, however small or dramatic, could be life-changing for her?

9. Do you think Mr. Pontellier is too angry and too demanding when he gets angry at his wife for breaking their Tuesday routine?

10. How does Chopin use foreshadowing in this chapter to warn of events to come?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of Chapter 33, Robert and Edna sit in silence. He has called her cruel. Has Edna changed too much for him?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 30, when Edna has her guests over for her coup d'etat dinner party, there is a moment when she retreats into her own thoughts. "But as she sat there amid her guests, she felt the old ennui overtaking her; the hopelessness which so often assailed her, which came upon her like an obsession, like something extraneous, independent of volition. It was something which announced itself; a chill breath that seemed to issue from some vast cavern wherein discords walled. There came over her the acute longing which always summoned into her spiritual vision the presence of the beloved one, overpowering her at once with a sense of the unattainable."

What does this passage mean? What does is say about Edna at this point in her life?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think of the final moments in Edna's life? Was she a coward for taking her own life? Or, was she brave in making the final decision on how to conclude her life?

(see the answer keys)

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