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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. As Emma and Léon get to know each other, what do they originally discuss?

2. Where do Charles and Emma meet?

3. Why do the townspeople believe Justin spends so much time at the Bovary home?

4. Why does Monsieur Rodolphe Boulanger call on Charles?

5. Where does Emma wish she had spent her honeymoon with Charles?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the cathedral described in Part 3: Chapter 1?

2. What subjects do Léon and Emma discuss in Part 2: Chapter 4 that reveal aspects of their personalities?

3. In Chapter 2, Emma is introduced to the reader. How is she described?

4. In Part 2: Chapter 3 we meet the wet nurse, Mère Rollet. Describe Mère Rollet's home as it provides a contrast to the relative luxury of Emma's home.

5. Monsieur Lhereux's character is developed in Part 2: Chapter 5. What clues does a reader get about his character?

6. In Part 2: Chapter 2 Emma reflects on each of the 4 different beds she has slept on in her life. How does each of these beds represent an important stage in her development as a character?

7. What themes in the books she reads reveal specific aspects of Emma's personality in Chapter 6?

8. Why do people begin to suspect in Part 2: Chapter 4 that Léon and Emma might have affections for one another?

9. How does Emma sink even deeper in debt in Part 3: Chapter 5?

10. How are the other people attending the opera described in Part 2: Chapter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Emma loves to read, and she has a penchant for gothic, dramatic themes. Choose one of the following genres of literature that Emma enjoys reading. Explain the genre and its main themes, and then connect these themes to Emma's own life. How do the plots in these books reveal deeper aspects of Emma's personality?

- Historical novels by Sir Walter Scott.

- Biographies of unhappy women.

- Romantic novels.

Essay Topic 2

Homais can be considered both a hero and an anti-hero. Explain why giving examples for each view. How do you personally view Homais?

Essay Topic 3

In many ways, Madame Bovary is a critique of the middle-class life, and the constraints, expectations, and disappointments that are a part of it. Compare the world of the Bovarys to a typical American middle class existence. Specifically, address the following issues faced by the typical middle class family today and relate them to themes that Flaubert threads throughout his novel:

- Debt and financial crises

- The increase in depression and the need for therapy

- A search for community through online or virtual meeting places rather than in face-to-face scenarios

(see the answer keys)

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