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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. What possession does Aunt Julle return to Tesman?

2. By the end of Act 4, what has Hedda lost?

3. Why does Hedda goad Lovborg into going to the party?

4. What gift does Hedda give Mr. Lovborg?

5. What is Solness paranoid really happened to the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Hedda burn the manuscript?

2. Why is Solness afraid of youth?

3. How does Hedda initially react to the news of Lovborg's suicide?

4. How does Hedda end up with Lovborg's manuscript?

5. What does Hedda claim spurred her original interest in Ejlert Lovborg, years ago?

6. Ultimately, why does Solness finally grant Ragnar's request?

7. How does Lovborg take his leave of Mrs. Elvsted?

8. What does Mr. Brack hint will soon keep Hedda busy, fulfilling her life and abating her incurable boredom?

9. What are Hedda's feelings about Tesman's aunts?

10. Why does Hedda refrain from visiting Aunt Rina?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hedda Gabler considers herself a coward. Why does she have that impression? What is she afraid of? What does she truly desire? Why does her obsession with Ejlert Lovborg consume her? She encourages Ejlert Lovborg to go to the party, despite protestations from Mrs. Elvsted and Lovborg himself declining. Why is she trying to control his destiny?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of personal will in THE MASTER BUILDER. Which characters believe they can will events into existence? How have these wills affected their lives/pasts/presents? In a way, could Solness's death be a punishment from God for trying to control his own destiny?

Essay Topic 3

In all the plays in the collection, there is a common theme: the inability to escape one's past. How does this theme play out in each of the four works? Which characters are the most affected by their denials of their pasts? What are the ultimate consequences in each of the works?

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