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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 Mildred feel when she first meet Helena?

2. Within how many years did Mildred's parents die of one another?

3. What does Mildred do with a co-worker on Wednesdays?

4. What is the name of the church where Mildred worships?

5. What school event do Dora and Mildred go to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Malorys decide about their house?

2. Where does Rocky go with Mildred and Dora and how does Mildred find this encounter?

3. What does Mildred tell the reader about her childhood?

4. Who does Mildred run into after her annual lunch date?

5. What does Mildred see on Ash Wednesday that she feels compelled to share with the Napiers?

6. Why does Mildred leave the Malorys after helping with the curtains?

7. Describe Mildred's new neighbor, Helena.

8. What do Mildred and Dora learn from a Wren officer on the way home from a school reunion?

9. How does Helena react when Everard comments that he will be going away, and what does she do later to contradict this reaction?

10. Describe the Malorys.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the social rules and moral codes that Mildred lives by. How do they restrict her? How do they affect her throughout the book?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Mildred's relationship with her downstairs neighbor, Rocky. What is her first impression of Rocky? What are their feelings for one another? Does Mildred have romantic feelings for Rocky? Does Rocky have romantic feelings for Mildred?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the setting of the novel Excellent Women. Where and where is the novel set? How does the time period affect the storyline? How does the place affect the storyline? Would the story change drastically if the time or place were to change?

(see the answer keys)

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