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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 is Wilhelm?

2. Where does Lucy's brother live?

3. What did Mrs. Nash buy for Lucy when she left for college?

4. What was Lucy's upbringing like?

5. Where did William and Lucy meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What punishment did Lucy endure as a child when she lied?

2. What is the narrator's full name?

3. What activity did Lucy hate doing with her family when she was married to William?

4. Who has never liked to cook?

5. Where is Catherine from?

6. Who is the narrator's second husband?

7. Who is Lois Bubar?

8. Which of Lucy's daughters gets pregnant?

9. What does Estelle's note to William say?

10. What is Lucy's profession?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring Lucy and William's relationship. How does this relationship, and particularly Lucy's understanding of it, change throughout the novel? What regrets does she have about it, and what about it is valuable to her? Use examples from the text as support.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring Lucy and William's trip to Maine. What do they learn there, either about themselves, or each other? Use examples from the text as support.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring Lucy's idea that people crave "authority." In particular, that one reason she felt so safe with William during their marriage was because he was a self-assured and authoritative person. In what moments throughout the novel is it clear that this idea about authority and the safety it provides is true for Lucy? Use examples from the text as support.

(see the answer keys)

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