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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. Where is Félicité's bedroom?

2. How many properties does Mme. Aubain still own?

3. When Félicité was 25-years-old, how old did people think she was?

4. How is Félicité's voice described?

5. What is peculiar about Félicité's appearance?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Félicité introduced to the reader in the first chapter?

2. On the way to Trouville, Félicité overhears Liebard talking about the woman that Theodore left her to marry, but she does not hear the end of the story. What, if any, function does this have in the story?

3. Describe the impression that the narrator gives you of Mme. Aubain's house.

4. Why do you think the narrator conceals the real cause of Loulou's death?

5. What does the narrator say about Félicité's age and appearance and why might this be an important detail?

6. Why does Mme. Simon nurse Félicité as she is dying?

7. Think back on the story as a whole. What do you think is the major theme and why?

8. Félicité's service for Mme. Aubain is described with some detail. What kind of an impression does Félicité's service give of Mme. Aubain?

9. How does Félicité feel about Loulou before she begins to go deaf? How do you know?

10. Describe and provide an analysis of Mme. Aubain's reaction when Félicité tells her that she hasn't heard from Victor in six months.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the deaths of Victor and Virginie. What does each mean to Félicité? In what ways are the events the same and in what ways are they different? Why do you think that both deaths are included? What is the thematic impact of having these two deaths so close together that mirror each other in several critical ways?

Essay Topic 2

In this text, the sacred is frequently paired with the worldly. This is certainly true in Félicité's room and in her religious impressions, but there are also traces of it elsewhere. Where else can you see this mix of the religious and the secular? What do you think Flaubert might have meant by it? Be sure to support your analysis with specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story, Félicité assumes a maternal role in several of her relationships. The most prominent examples are Virginie, Victor, and Loulou, but there are, arguably, other examples. Choose at least three people (or animals) that Félicité develops a maternal affection for and compare them. How does this comparison reflect on Félicité? Does there seem to be a larger message implicit in this theme?

(see the answer keys)

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