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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. How does Valerie explain her relationship to Montejanos?

2. At what time does Wenceslas arrive home after dining with Valerie Marneffe?

3. When Hector Hulot returns home from Valerie's house after hearing of the problem between Wenceslas and Hortense, what does he discover Adeline doing?

4. Where does Valerie arrange to meet Montejanos clandestinely after her guests have retired?

5. What does Stidman tell Wenceslas to get him to leave his second meeting with Valerie and return home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What proof of Wenceslas' infidelity does Hortense receive? What does she decide to do after she receives this proof and why?

2. Who interrupts Valerie and Hector during their clandestine meeting in Crevel's love nest? By whom is this character accompanied? What does this character tell the Baron about Valerie Marneffe and her husband?

3. What happens when Hector goes to visit Valerie after he receives her letter? How does he receive a message from her and what is communicated?

4. What plan does Adeline conceive to save her uncle? What is the outcome?

5. How does Valerie use her pregnancy to benefit financially and socially? Which men are affected by this news?

6. What publication makes Lisbeth so happy? What event begins a chain of events that will end this happiness?

7. After their initial clandestine meetings, what message does Hector receive in the form of a letter from Valerie? What reason does she give for a change of plans? What is the real reason?

8. Besides the news of the embezzlement scheme in the newspaper, what other news item is featured in the Revue des Beaux-Arts? What is Hortense's reaction to this item?

9. What does Adeline advise Hortense to do after her first quarrel with Wenceslas over Valerie Marneffe? What does Adeline reveal to her daughter about her own marriage?

10. What has happened to Wenceslas professionally in the three years since he has married Hortense? To what is this change attributed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is irony manifested in Cousin Bette? Choose two examples of irony from the text and explain their classification and significance. How does the use of irony affect the tone of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the author uses several objects for symbolic purposes. Choose two examples of symbols from the text and discuss their significance. How do these symbols relate to the themes and message of Cousin Bette?

Essay Topic 3

At the end of the first part of Cousin Bette, the narrator compares the narrative to a classical tragedy. Use specific examples from the text to discuss which elements of classical tragedy are found in the novel and which elements are missing. In your opinion, can Cousin Bette be classified as a tragedy? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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