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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. From what language does Johannes say the dogs' names are culled?
(a) German.
(b) Sanskrit.
(c) Sumatran.
(d) Scandinavian.

2. When Johannes kisses Nella for the first time, what happens to interrupt their kiss?
(a) She puts her hand on his breeches.
(b) Peebo starts to make noise.
(c) He touches the back of her neck.
(d) Marin walks into the room.

3. Who is heard giggling in the shadows during Marin and Nella's first meeting?
(a) Cornelia.
(b) Frans.
(c) Otto.
(d) Johannes.

4. What is the main thrust of the note Nella sends to the miniaturist after receiving her first order?
(a) She demands a reply to her query about the miniature crib.
(b) She praises the miniaturist's work and asks him whether he can make dolls.
(c) She sends payment for the miniaturist's bill and writes that she will get in touch soon.
(d) She says that she will not be using her services again.

5. For what purpose does Nella remove her shoes in the doorway of her new home upon her arrival?
(a) They are making too much noise on the entryway floor.
(b) To be over-polite until she learns the rules of the house.
(c) They are muddy from her walk.
(d) To show that country girls have manners, too.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many younger siblings does Nella have, and what gender(s) are her siblings?

2. What feeling does Nella have upon first arriving at the Brandt house when no one will answer the door?

3. When Nella realizes that she has not sent her unwanted items along with the note to the miniaturist, what does she do with them?

4. What is NOT a symptom of her father's dwindling financial status listed by Nella?

5. From what source does the author provide both of the text's epigraphs?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nella mean when she muses that Marin and Johannes are obsessed with "souls and purses" (27)?

2. What is ironic about Nella's mother's comment that there is only one kind of wife?

3. How does Nella feel when Marin reveals that she has known all along that her brother Johannes is gay?

4. How does Nella characterize the people in her life in relation to dwelling on the past?

5. How do Marin's and Nella's views of Nella's situation in the Brandt household differ?

6. What does Nella's parakeet Peebo symbolize?

7. How do Nella's expectations of Marin's reaction differ from Marin's real reaction when Nella tells her about Johannes's homosexuality?

8. What is Nella's mother's reply when Nella says she does not want to be the kind of wife that behaves as the "rams and ewes of Assendelft" (26) do?

9. What does Nella mean when she opines that "home is nowhere" (114) for her now?

10. What is Nella's marital status when she first arrives at the Brandt home?

(see the answer keys)

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