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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. Describe the man the tall woman meets at her hotel when she leaves her husband in "Sirocco."

2. How does the woman on the beach help Louis?

3. At her wedding to Robert, what haunts Dorothy?

4. What are Dorothy's career aspirations?

5. To what are the girls compared as they run away from Manuel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the two mystery women in "Sirocco."

2. Why does Louis walk to the beach in "The Woman on the Dunes"?

3. Why does Manuel dislike his apartment and how does his wife deal with it?

4. How is Maria finally able to overcome her aversion to sensuality?

5. For what reasons, in the woman's story, are the people so stirred up about the impending execution of the Russian radical?

6. For what reasons does Edna begin to find her self-confidence again after becoming estranged from Harry?

7. What are Lina's views on lesbianism?

8. Why does the Viking woman leave her husband and what results from it?

9. What leads up to the schoolgirls running from Manuel at the end of this story?

10. Describe the night Louis shares with the woman he swims with during "the Woman on the Dunes."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Bijou and Mary? Why is it significant that both women are depicted as being highly promiscuous? Why is it important to note that descriptions of these characters are filtered through the perceptions of people who are attracted to them (and, in Bijou's case, infuriated by her)? In what way is Mary able to break out of her role? Why are both women depicted as being so unhappy? How does this reflect upon the people who pursue relationships with them? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the marriage of Novalis and Maria in terms of their fantasies for one another. Develop a clear thesis statement and be sure to discuss the following (though not exclusively): Novalis's attraction to "Maja Desnuda" and Maria's resemblance to that model, Maria and Novalis's conflicting desires, Maria's conservatism (as well as Novalis's reactions to this), and the changes within their relationship throughout the story. Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How is sexual repression depicted in this book? How does a sexually repressed childhood (with conflicting messages) affect Dorothy and Edna of "Two Sisters?" Why is Lina repressed, despite her reciprocated attraction to her female friend? What about Maria from "the Maja?" How does this affect her marriage to Novalis and how does it affect his art? What do all of the repressed characters have in common? What changes their outlook on sex by the end of the stories and how does it fundamentally seem to change them?

(see the answer keys)

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