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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 is Marin's reply to the specific culinary request Nella makes upon her arrival at the Brandt house?

2. When Nella gets back to her room after her first kiss with Johannes, what does she do?

3. For what reason does Hole-Face say he does not and will not speak to the miniaturist?

4. What does the narrator list as the one object that "the reformers didn't pull down" (1)?

5. To Nella's surprise, Marin tells her that what object will protect the Brandt household in the face of Johannes's homosexuality?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the circumstances of Nella's arrival at the Brandt house that are troubling to her?

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

3. For what reason does Marin always insist on taking the Brandt household's dogs to church?

4. What is Johannes's reply when Nella asks him whether they are rich?

5. What is Otto's history?

6. Describe Nella's first kiss with Johannes.

7. What does the herring served within the Brandt household symbolize?

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

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

10. What does Nella's parakeet Peebo symbolize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the author's message regarding motherhood and femininity and what themes does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Marin's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by the author in depicting Marin and include in your discussion the reasons that the author portrays her in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how and why the author instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of The Miniaturist.

(see the answer keys)

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