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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. How does Erila respond to the snake tattoo?

2. In Chapter 44, why does everyone in Alessandra's house leave?

3. When Alessandra returns home in Chapter 37, what does Cristoforo worry about?

4. In Chapter 22, what does Cristoforo want to know about Alessandra's mother?

5. Why is the painter arrested in Chapter 41?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Alessandra's life like when the painter is at the convent?

2. In Chapter 47, what convinces Alessandra that her daughter is the painter's child?

3. What happens to the painter after he is released from jail in Chapter 42?

4. How does Alessandra react when Cristoforo brings Tomaso home in Chapter 26?

5. How does Savonarola respond to being excommunicated?

6. What happens when Alessandra visits the chapel before the dedication?

7. When Alessandra visits the painter while he is locked in the chapel, what does she discover about his art?

8. What does Alessandra do when she begins to go into labor?

9. What does Savonarola preach about when he won't let women in the church?

10. How do the French affect Alessandra's life in Chapter 20?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does marriage play in The Birth of Venus? How does marriage affect the conflicts in this novel?

Essay Topic 2

How does this novel develop the Italian Renaissance into a character instead of a setting?

Essay Topic 3

What role does infidelity play in The Birth of Venus? How does the author portray infidelity as a positive thing? As a negative thing?

(see the answer keys)

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