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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. What is the narrator’s name in “The Wife’s Story”?

2. What does Jacky take out from her pocket and show the narrator when she discusses the narrator’s husband’s past in “The Wife’s Story”?

3. The narrator in “The Wife’s Story” says she grew up in what state?

4. By what name does the narrator say she called her husband in their first six months of marriage in “The Wife’s Story”?

5. The narrator of “The Wife’s Story” says “It will be enough for me to give you the history of one day, - that of our first coming to” where?

Short Essay Questions

1. What “big decision” does Mrs. Palmer make in “Anne”? Why?

2. What is the character of Anne doing in the opening of the last story, “Anne”?

3. How is Hester’s departure from her family described in “The Wife’s Story”?

4. What information does Jacky relate to Hester regarding Dr. Manning’s first wife in “The Wife’s Story”?

5. When and why did Hester’s marriage begin to change in “The Wife’s Story”?

6. Who does Mrs. Palmer first encounter on the train in “Anne”? What is Mrs. Palmer’s reaction?

7. How does the plot of “Anne” relate to the life of author Rebecca Harding Davis?

8. Where does Mrs. Palmer travel in “Anne”? How does she fund her travels?

9. What does the narrator note about the character of Mrs. Palmer in the ending of “Anne”?

10. What happens to Mrs. Palmer in the denouement of “Anne”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Women’s Roles in Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories

a. Discuss the roles and expectations of women as seen in the stories in the collection. How are women’s roles central to the plot of each of these stories?

b. How would you compare the women characters and men characters in the stories in the collection? How are they similar? How do they differ?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the central conflicts in “The Wife’s Story.” Why is Hester conflicted about the move to Newport? Why does Hester choose not to share her thoughts and ambitions with her husband? Are the central conflicts in the story internal or external?

Essay Topic 3

Examine and discuss Deborah’s feelings of jealousy over Janey in the “Life in the Iron Mills.” What is the relationship like between these characters? Why does Deb feel resentment toward Janey? How is Janey described?

(see the answer keys)

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