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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 does Poncia say about the woman and the men who abducted her?

2. What does the Servant say Bernarda's mother is all dressed in near the end of Act 1, Part 2?

3. What does the Servant say Bernarda's mother wished to do in Act 1, Part 2?

4. What does Maria Josefa say that she wants to do near the end of Act 1, Part 3?

5. What does Poncia make a pointed comment about regarding what the lace could be used for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Servant say about Bernarda's late husband in Act 1, Part 1?

2. What reason does a Beggar Woman come to Bernarda's house?

3. What does Poncia do to Adela's bedroom door at the end of the play?

4. In what way do the Servants' attitude change once Bernarda returns from her husband's funeral?

5. What does Adela complain to Poncia about Martirio in Act 2, Part 1?

6. What do Bernarda and the mourners make small talk about at the beginning of Act 1, Part 2?

7. What is the nature of Adela's discussion with Martirio about being Pepe's mistress?

8. What does Bernarda suggest her daughters do during their eight years of mourning?

9. What does Bernarda tell her daughters when they begin arguing in Act 2, Part 2?

10. What are Poncia and a Servant doing at the beginning of the play?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the play, one of the most common expressions of emotion comes in the form of jealousy. Part 1.) What seems to be the driving force for most of the jealousy in the play? Part 2.) In what way does the jealousy exhibited between the sisters in the play differ from typical sibling rivalry? Part 3.) What is missing in the play's characters' lives that hint at the reason for such jealousy?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the concept of freedom in the play. What does freedom seem to represent to the characters in the play, namely Adela and Maria Josefa? What is hindering these characters from finding true freedom? What might the author be saying about the price freedom costs?

Essay Topic 3

In the entire play, the central theme is the use and manipulation of control. Part 1.) What reasons does Bernarda have for wanting such control over her daughters in the play? Part 2.) What might the author hope for such control to be representative of in terms of explaining the nature of the play's characters? Part 3.) What might the author want control to represent regarding the fate of the daughters in the play?

(see the answer keys)

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