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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. How does Emma spend her engagement period to Charles?

2. Where is Emma when she compares her husband to Léon and begins to realize that she is no longer in love with her husband?

3. What seems to disappoint Emma about her pregnancy and the birth of her child, Berthe?

4. Where is the ball held where Emma meets Vicomte?

5. After she throws herself into domestic life, how does Emma's appearance change?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has Emma's reputation been ruined by Part 3: Chapter 6?

2. How does Charles' action in Part 2: Chapter 11 irrevocably change the nature of his relationship with Emma?

3. What is the state of Emma and Léon's relationship by the end of Part 3: Chapter 6?

4. Why does Emma seek refuge at the home of Mère Rollet in Part 2: Chapter 7?

5. In Chapter 1, what clues are given that Charles Bovary is a member of the middle class and is considered an "ordinary" person?

6. Describe Emma's father's reaction to her death in Part 3: Chapter 10.

7. By Part 3: Chapter 4, has Léon become a better person or a worse person since beginning his affair with Emma?

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

9. Charles continually sacrifices to make his wife happy. Do you think this shows true selflessness or foolishness?

10. How does Emma show in Chapter 4 that makes her wedding guests concerned about her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Three characters embody the servant class in the novel: Justin, Félicité, and Mère Rollet. What are their roles in the novel? How do they interact with Emma? They are servants, but Emma also manipulates them to serve her own personal interests. Describe how she does this and what their reactions are to her both in life and in death.

Essay Topic 2

Pathos is an emotional response to a text. Hippolyte and the blind beggar both embody tragic characteristics and are characters that should inspire much pathos in the reader, however in the way they are presented, they often do not. Do you see these two characters as sympathetic? Why or why not? Specifically note how they are described in the text. What do you think is Flaubert's purpose in describing them this way?

Essay Topic 3

Imagine Emma survived her overdose on arsenic. What do you imagine she would have done? How would she have explained her predicament to Charles and solved her financial problems? Would any of the townspeople or her family members come to her aid? Use examples from the novel to support your hypothesis.

(see the answer keys)

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