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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. Who are the two people Cécile admits she likes best?

2. What advice does Valmont give to Madame de Tourvel?

3. Why, says Madame de Tourvel in letter 78, was she wary toward Valmont when they first met?

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

5. What does Cécile tell Danceny in letter 49?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Madame de Tourvel respond to Madame de Volanges' warning about Valmont?

2. What serious warning does Valmont give Merteuil?

3. How does Merteuil respond to Valmont's warning?

4. What subterfuge does Valmont use to come into possession of Madame de Tourvel's letters?

5. What does the author of the Introduction say is particularly engaging about Laclos' use of the epistolary form?

6. How does Madame de Tourvel respond to Valmont's first love letter?

7. What action does Valmont take to make Madame de Tourvel love him, and what are the results?

8. How does Valmont describe Madame de Tourvel?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the Publisher's Note and Editor's Preface. What is their significance to the work? What messages are they each trying to get across? What is the tone of each? How do they try to influence the readers of the novel? In which ways do they define the work? Why does Laclos include them both? After reading the novel, do you read them or understand them in a different way? How do they compare to typical prefatory material in other works? Is the Publisher's Note after the last letter related in any way to Laclos' introductions?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the strange, though steady, friendly relationship that Merteuil and Valmont have maintained with one another. Describe the tone that Merteuil and Valmont's letters take with each other throughout most of the novel. What do these letters say specifically about Valmont and Merteuil's relationship and their past, and what do the letters merely imply or hint at? Why does their relationship fail--is it the result of an action, an event, another person, an exterior or interior force? Examine the friction that has taken place between Merteuil and Valmont throughout the novel. How does Merteuil typically respond to Valmont's letters about Madame de Tourvel? How does Merteuil judge Valmont's feelings for Madame de Tourvel or his motivations in pursuing her? How does Valmont defend his motivations and his feelings to Merteuil, and what promise did he continually remind her of? Why would such a reminder perhaps irritate Merteuil? What is the tone and direction of their correspondence once Merteuil decided to take Danceny as a lover?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the ending of the novel and the various fates assigned to each character. Does the ending and Madame de Volanges' final message fulfill the "requirements" of a moral novel? Could the endings of, arguably, the two most important characters (Valmont's death and Merteuil's disgrace) be considered "Deus ex machinas?" Why or why not? Do you find any symbolism in each character's fate? Where do ideas of morality and justice emerge from the ending of the novel? Does the ending resolve anything, leave any issues ambiguous, or become undercut by the vastness of the immorality in the novel?

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