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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part I: Letters 1 through 15.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who wrote the Publisher's Foreword to _Les Liasons Dangerueses_?
(a) The Duke d'Orleans.
(b) Choderlos de Laclos.
(c) The owner of the shop in which the book was printed.
(d) Laclos' wife, Marie-Soulange Duperré.

2. What literary tradition does Coward see as applicable?
(a) Elegiac poetry.
(b) Sentimentality.
(c) Don Juanism.
(d) Romanticism.

3. Why must Cécile's marriage be postponed?
(a) Cécile plans to travel and further her education.
(b) Her fiancé is away with his regiment.
(c) Cécile has second thoughts about marriage.
(d) Her fiancé is gravely ill.

4. What was the beginning of Laclos' military career like?
(a) He set sail for India and China to support France's colonial efforts.
(b) He was garrisoned in provincial towns and saw no battle action.
(c) He became a decorated hero and military adviser to the King.
(d) He fought constantly in the Seven Years' War.

5. How do today's readers of Laclos interpret his novel?
(a) They always apply Laclos' personal history to the meaning of the novel.
(b) They neglect several characters and only focus on one or two.
(c) They cannot agree on the ambiguous meanings and motivations of the characters.
(d) They find that each character has definite motivations.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Laclos favor over the well-trained mind?

2. What else does David Coward, author of the Introduction, insist is a factor in libertine novels?

3. According to Merteuil in letter 10, which pretext do women use to submit to sexual pleasure with a man?

4. Who or what does Coward see as at fault for the events of the novel?

5. To whom does the Marquise de Merteuil confide her plots?

(see the answer key)

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