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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 are Elizabeth's main symptoms in Stillman?

2. Where is she dropped off after the break up?

3. Which one of these things does Elizabeth NOT swear off while in Cambridge?

4. What does Elizabeth NOT compare madness to?

5. Which of these is NOT a side effect associated with drugs created to treat depression?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Archer the perfect person for Elizabeth to visit after a breakup?

2. Why does Elizabeth finally learn her diagnosis now?

3. How does Elizabeth describe the difference between madness and depression in relation to literature?

4. What about the Dallas music industry surprises Elizabeth when she arrives?

5. What does Elizabeth's mom tell her that makes her disease become a reality to her?

6. Elizabeth is finally diagnosed with atypical depression. Describe what this disease is.

7. How does Elizabeth react to her miscarriage afterwards?

8. What does Elizabeth's mother think Elizabeth should do to get better? What does Dr. Sterling suggest instead and why?

9. Describe Elizabeth's first conversation with Rafe on the phone. Why does she say she's calling him? Why do they continue talking?

10. How do the doctors react when Elizabeth is brought into the hospital covered in blood?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Rafe and Elizabeth's relationship worked as well as it did for a time? Explain why their relationship worked due to Rafe's personal family history and how it fit in with Elizabeth's mental state.

Essay Topic 2

Wurtzel begins the novel with a quote from Marguerite Duras' "The Lover" which reads, "Very early in my life it was too late." Why do you think this quote was chosen by Wurtzel? What significance does it have and how does it set the tone for the novel from the start?

Essay Topic 3

Elizabeth and her mother have a conversation after Elizabeth returns home to take care of her mother after she is attacked. What is the conversation about and what do you think its impact is for Elizabeth?

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