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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 did Fujiwara lay the blame for his absences after his promotion?

2. When MM grew afraid that she was dying, what did she warn Fujiwara against?

3. What did MM take special care to teach her adopted daughter?

4. In Book Two, for what was MM commissioned?

5. What excuse did MM give to Fujiwara about how she could not see him on her retreat?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Fujiwara treat Michitsuna at the Grand Sumo Tournament?

2. Describe MM's poetry.

3. What was significant about MM's prediction about her death?

4. How did MM and Michitsuna both react to their secluded retreat?

5. How did Fujiwara bond with MM during her illness?

6. About what did MM and Fujiwara argue during his long illness?

7. What happened to the minister of the left?

8. On New Year's Day, what did MM attempt in order to garner a better year for her and her family?

9. Why did MM decide to go on another retreat after Fujiwara's promotion?

10. Why was MM depressed after returning from the Hase temple?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compose an essay about the ways in which the director's fervent pursuit of MM's adopted daughter was an echo of Fujiwara's courtship of MM and the implications of this in regards to their society.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how MM and Fujiwara's strained marriage affected Michitsuna, both positively and negatively. How were Michitsuna's personality and maturity level direct results of his relationship with his mother?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the different motivations behind MM's diary and what each possibility suggests about the ways she recorded her experiences, as well as how it affects the reader's relationship to the author and the material.

(see the answer keys)

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