View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Letters 101 - 124.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How was __Les Liaisons Dangereuses_ treated after the turn of the 20th century?
(a) Readers and critics extolled it as the single best novel of the Western hemisphere.
(b) Readers and critics reaffirmed the initial 18th-century response.
(c) Readers and critics were more likely to praise and study it.
(d) Readers and critics ignored its existence until ten years ago.

2. What is the name of the school-friend to whom Cécile writes?
(a) Eliza.
(b) Sophie.
(c) Francoise.
(d) Émilie.

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

4. What does Merteuil advise Cécile to do after being raped by Valmont?
(a) Keep the event secret from Danceny and elope with him.
(b) Confess everything to her mother and ask for forgiveness.
(c) Give into pleasure and take Valmont as a lover.
(d) Give into despair.

5. Who are the two people Cécile admits she likes best?
(a) Merteuil and Madame de Rosemonde.
(b) Valmont and Merteuil.
(c) Merteuil and Danceny.
(d) Danceny and Madame de Volanges.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did French society view Laclos after the publication of _Les Liaisons Dangereuses_?

2. What is the first action Valmont takes to make Madame de Tourvel look favorably upon him?

3. Whom does Danceny trust to help him continue his relationship with Cécile?

4. What does Madame de Tourvel reveal to Valmont in letter 90?

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

(see the answer key)

This section contains 356 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample