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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. Even up to the beginning of the nineteenth century, according to the narrator, what was "out of the question" for a woman?

2. While thinking about the Professor's work, what does the narrator find herself doing?

3. According to the narrator, how do we achieve self-confidence?

4. What topic has the narrator asked to lecture about?

5. What was the cost of founding the women's college?

Short Essay Questions

1. What motives does Woolf reveal for her lecture?

2. What does Woolf encourage women to ignore when setting out to write?

3. What impact did life experience and/or travel have on some writers, according to the narrator?

4. What does the narrator ask the reader to call her?

5. Where, according to the narrator, did Jane Austen write?

6. What tone is pervasive throughout the poem by Lady Winchilsea that the narrator recites?

7. What does the narrator attribute to the insanity of a woman like Judith?

8. What does the narrator consider as something that men seek in relationships with women?

9. What does the narrator ultimately decide to lecture about instead of "women and fiction?"

10. Where, according to the narrator, does genius like that of Shakespeare's come from?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the major differences between Oxbridge and Fernham as they relate to the larger theme of the inequality of the sexes during the time period examined by the narrator. What other examples of disparate treatment does the narrator provide? How is inequality evident throughout the time periods readers are exposed to in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of structure, integrity, and experience in creating fiction. What were the differences in how women approached these things vs. men?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the evolution of women as the narrator takes the reader through it. Include a discussion of women as characters as well as writers.

(see the answer keys)

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