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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. What sin does Abelard remind Heloise of?

2. In Letter 5, what does Abelard ask Heloise to accept?

3. What does Heloise say is Abelard's relation with her now?

4. What does Heloise remind Abelard of?

5. In what way does Heloise say Abelard disregarded custom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What contrast does Abelard draw with women's practices and men's?

2. What does Abelard ask Heloise and her nuns to do?

3. What is Heloise's response to Peter the Venerable?

4. In Letter 4, why does Heloise say she is disappointed with Abelard's response?

5. What occasioned Heloise's letter to Abelard?

6. What does Abelard beg Heloise for in Letter 3?

7. What does Abelard say is the purpose of monastic life?

8. What does Heloise say about answering Abelard's requests of her?

9. Why does Abelard say in Letter 5 he filled Heloise with distress in his previous letter?

10. How is Letter 7 organized?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Reading the text closely, describe Abelard and Heloise. What do we know about them based not only on what they tell us, but their style of writing as well?

Essay Topic 2

What does The Letters of Abelard and Heloise tell us about being male or female? How does the text represent masculinity and femininity? What are the roles appropriate to either gender? How do Abelard and Heloise define the differences? Where do they overlap?

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of the outside world on the story of Abelard and Heloise? Where does it figure in their letters, and how does it affect their story? How does French monastic and political history appear to us through the lens of these letters?

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