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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 throws herself overboard to avoid being raped when she is kidnapped?

2. Why does Marquis Saluzzo pretend to kill the children his wife bares him?

3. According to Rectitude, how do women compare to men in terms of avariciousness?

4. When the emperor locks Martina in his temple, what does he find her doing when he returns?

5. Why does Medea despair for the rest of her life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rectitude say to the idea that women are avaricious?

2. What happens when Rectitude finishes her portion of the City of Ladies?

3. How does Marquis Saluzzo test Griselda's constancy?

4. What happens when Martina reveals her Christianity to the emperor who wants to marry her?

5. Why is Claudia's reputation compromised, and how does she prove her chastity?

6. Describe Saint Catherine's martyrdom.

7. What question does Christine ask that causes Rectitude to offer Julia, Pompey's wife, as an example to refute the claim?

8. What leads to Ghismonda's suicide?

9. How does Xanthippe demonstrate her love for Socrates?

10. How do the wives of the knights who helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece save their husbands?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does Boccaccio play in "The Book of the City of Ladies," and how does he compare to other literary men that are mentioned throughout the book?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Reason, Rectitude, and Justice. How are their relationships with Christine similar and different?

Essay Topic 3

How does the first person point-of-view enhance and inhibit the story? How would the novel be different if a different point of view were used?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 916 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample