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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Letters 16 - 50.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What euphemism does Merteuil use to refer to her lover?
(a) "Swain."
(b) "Distraction."
(c) "Knight."
(d) "Pastime."

2. What does Merteuil do to get herself in the mood for sex with her lover?
(a) She reads.
(b) She daydreams.
(c) She gazes at herself in the mirror.
(d) She drinks wine.

3. What does "libertine" generally refer to in 18th-century France?
(a) Sexual depravity.
(b) Conventional wisdom.
(c) Pious worship of God.
(d) Conservative political ideals.

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

5. What is a "little house?"
(a) The servants' quarters, attached to a large estate.
(b) A peasant hovel.
(c) A luxurious love-nest in the country.
(d) A temporary dwelling for those on the run from the law.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which place in the social hierarchy did Laclos' family occupy?

2. Why must Cécile's marriage be postponed?

3. What ruse does Valmont use to attempt to secretly rifle through Madame de Tourvel's letters?

4. What was Laclos' relationship with his own wife and children?

5. What common subjects of social satire is the novel clearly lacking, according to Coward?

(see the answer key)

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