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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 does Merivel do most of the day while he is ill?

2. Why does Merivel want to cure Katherine?

3. Where do the others tell Edmund he can find God?

4. Who does Merivel see on the river one morning in 1666?

5. What does Pearce lose, that Merivel helps him find?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the King feel about Merivel, after time has passed?

2. What prompts Katherine to try to hang herself?

3. What does the King advise Merivel to do with his life?

4. How does Merivel feel about Bath?

5. What is Merivel able to do at the funeral that he could not do while Pearce was alive?

6. Describe the signs that end up hanging outside Frances Elizabeth's house.

7. What does Pearce wonder about flowers?

8. What does Merivel discover when he examines Pearce?

9. How does Katherine react to the world outside the hospital?

10. Describe Edmund's dreams.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel is set in the historical period of the Restoration in England. Discuss this historical setting and the relationship between the novel and history.

1) Why did the author choose to set a novel in this time period and name the novel after the historical period?

2) How do historical events such as the fire in London and the plague affect the story?

3) How does your knowledge of things like modern medicine affect how you view the characters and what they do in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss loyalty in the novel.

1) Who is Merivel loyal to in the novel? Does Merivel remain loyal to the King? Why does Merivel lie to Celia about the King's message?

2) Are the characters loyal to themselves? In what ways? What happens when a character is disloyal, to himself or to another?

3) What is the relationship between loyalty and love? Can loyalty in the novel exist without love?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the novel's treatment of women.

1) How does the novel portray women? What role do women hold in the society, and how does their societal role affect their behavior and personalities?

2) How do the male characters perceive and react to women? What do the male characters think of women, and how do they treat women?

3) How does the author perceive women? How can you distinguish between the characters' perceptions and the author's perception?

(see the answer keys)

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