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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. Who comes along just as a fight is about to break out between Tess and another woman?

2. While Tess is at Talbothays, she is quite happy. What causes her happiness?

3. What is Tess's mother's response when she hears about the sexual encounter between Tess and Alec?

4. At the dance, why does Angel leave without talking to Tess?

5. Angel's two brothers are named Cuthert and ____?

Short Essay Questions

1. What arguments does Angel give his parents to convince them that marrying Tess is a good idea?

2. Describe the scene concerning the accident with the horse. What does that show about Tess's character?

3. What story does Tess hear at the farm that makes her resolve (again) not to marry Angel?

4. In Chapter 11, what happens between Alec and Tess?

5. What happens on the drive to Mrs. D'Uberville's home?

6. In Chapter 19, Hardy introduces another of the perceived road blocks to the relationship between Tess and Angel, from her point of view. What?

7. How is Mrs. D'Urberville described?

8. How does Tess's mother react when she returns home after her sexual encounter with Alec? What does Mrs. Durbeyfield's reaction tell us about her as a mother?

9. Tess tries once more to get the courage to tell Angel the truth. In Chapter 30, what happens when she tries?

10. In Chapter 6, how is Alec portrayed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tess names her baby Sorrow. What is the significance of this name? And what is implied by the scene in which Tess buries Sorrow in a corner of the churchyard reserved for the 'ungodly.' Is this the point at which Tess loses her religious faith?

Essay Topic 2

Alec asks Tess to wear a veil so that she won't tempt him. Then he asks her to swear on a holy icon that she will never tempt him again. What does this scene say about Alec's attitude towards Tess particularly, and women in general?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 46 Tess says, "How can I pray for you, when I am forbidden to believe that the great Power who moves the world would alter his plans on my account?" How is this to be interpreted, in light of all that has happened to her? Is she becoming cynical? Bitter? Or is she simply being realistic?

(see the answer keys)

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