View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What has Merteuil tricked Cécile into doing?

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

4. What does Madame de Tourvel tell Madame de Volanges she will do to get rid of Valmont?

5. On what issue does Cécile ask Merteuil's advice in letter 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes Cécile to become worried and sad about her upcoming marriage?

2. Who is Merteuil's "knight," and what does she think of him?

3. How does Cécile describe Danceny to her friend Sophie?

4. What does the Editor state in the Editor's Preface?

5. What are the general contents of Valmont's love letters to Madame de Tourvel?

6. How does the Publisher's Foreword introduce the novel?

7. What are Merteuil and Valmont's plans for Danceny and Cécile at the beginning of Part II?

8. Describe Cécile de Volanges.

9. What was Choderlos de Laclos' position in society? Describe his family life.

10. What does Merteuil suggest, in different forms, to Cécile and Valmont?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of innocence in the novel. How does the author describe "innocence" or "ignorance" and what connotations are attached to these words or ideas? In the novel, is innocence automatically ignorance? Who is impressionable in the novel?How do other characters take advantage of this? Which characters act innocent or ignorant in the novel? Are Madame de Volanges, Madame de Tourvel, and/or Madame de Rosemonde "innocents," in any way? What becomes of Cécile and Danceny's innocence? How are innocence and experience opposed in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the theme of male solidarity in the novel. Consider the following situations: the three men involved with Prévan's legendary seduction bond together to ruin all three women who are also Prévan's targets; Valmont convinces Madame de Tourvel's confessor, Father Anselme, to allow Valmont access to Madame de Tourvel; Valmont and Danceny, after dueling, bond together to ruin Merteuil. Are there similar instances of female solidarity in the novel? How does this influence your interpretation of gender roles in the novel? How are "communities," or even friendships, gendered in the text?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role of servants, doctors, confessors, and others of lower social standing as they seem in the novel. Do these barely visible characters have a voice, or any agency? What portions of the plot do they fill? Are there differences in Laclos' presentation of them through their letters, or through their reported interactions with more vocal characters? What potentially political role could they have in the novel--that is, can one interpret their presence, or lack thereof, as opposed to the presence and characterization of the high-society characters, as a political statement? How do members of the upper-class treat, speak to, or refer to members of the servant and lower classes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,048 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample