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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. Why does the narrator want Saint-Loup to get them a dinner invitation to the Guermantes' in "Guermantes Way, Part I"?

2. What does the narrator say he admires most about Mme. de Sevigne?

3. Why does Bloch feel he should visit Saint-Loup in "Seascape, with Frieze of Girls"?

4. What does Rachel discuss that makes the narrator find her "malicious" in "Guermantes Way, Part I"?

5. In "Place-Names, The Place: Part I," why can't the narrator talk to M. de Stermaria's daughter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the narrator runs into Professor E in "Guermantes Way, Part I continued"?

2. What happens when Bloch accompanies the narrator to see Saint-Loup to his train in "Seascape, with Frieze of Girls"?

3. In "Place-Names: The Place, Part II," what happens when Saint-Loup and the narrator dine with the Bloch family?

4. What happens the first time the narrator meets Marquise Robert de Saint-Loup?

5. What argument does the narrator get into with Bloch in Balbec?

6. When visiting Elstir's studio in Balbec, why does the narrator want to go to the beach?

7. What does Francoise do while in Balbec?

8. What does the narrator learn about Bergotte when he visits the grandmother during her illness?

9. While in Balbec, what upsets the narrator about running into the Marquise de Villeparisis?

10. What does the narrator do the first time he meets Gisele?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator longs for a relationship with a woman. Choose three attempts at relationships, or desires for relationships, and analyze their successes and failures. What was the benefit to the narrator? What harmed him in the end? What does the theme of failed romance mean for this novel?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the major events that occur while the narrator and his grandmother travel to Balbec. Select three places they visit and explain the importance of each. What do these places symbolize? What happens there that changes this novel? What is so significant about Balbec?

Essay Topic 3

After a period of day-dreaming about Mme. Guermantes, the narrator becomes disillusioned with her. Follow the chain of events that takes the narrator from love to indifference. What does this change mean for the narrator? What does is represent in the larger picture of his society?

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