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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. Tess confesses to Connor that she is using him in order to keep from thinking about which character?

2. To what location does Tess take a particular pair of tennis shoes at Cecilia's request?

3. Who calls Tess on her cell phone while she is out shopping with Liam in Chapter 42?

4. What gift arrives by courier for Tess during her stay at her mother Lucy's house?

5. Just before Janie is attacked by John-Paul, she briefly thinks that he is about to take which action instead?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does the motif of dreams appear within the narrative?

2. What other actions does Cecilia think she will be taking if she lets "life just continue on" (262) normally after John-Paul's confession?

3. What standing appointment does Cecilia have with her mother-in-law Virginia each week and how does Cecilia view these visits?

4. How does the reader find out the circumstances of Lucy and Andrew's divorce?

5. What does Connor say about the nature of his relationship with Janie?

6. How does Lucy react to Tess's revelation that she has recently slept with Connor?

7. What two aspects of motherhood had caught Tess by surprise upon having Liam?

8. What possible reasons does the narrator name for Tess's feelings of shame in Chapter 40?

9. What feelings does Rachel have when she watches Tess and Lucy laugh together?

10. Describe Janie's murder as it is portrayed in Chapter 45.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Moriarty's choice to tell the story of The Husband's Secret using a third person omniscient narrator. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Moriarty’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Explicate the motif of dreams as it is used within The Husband's Secret. What are the patterns inherent in Moriarty’s use of this motif and with which of the work’s major themes does the motif’s use dovetail?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of The Husband's Secret and analyze Moriarty’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

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