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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. Nella recalls that her father had been both wary and what of Amsterdam's wealth and power?

2. What does Nella do when she sees Johannes engaged in a sex act with someone else?

3. What is the purpose of the Meermans' visit to the Brandt household on the night Nella performs music?

4. What is Marin's reply when Nella asks what would happen if Agnes and Frans found out about Johannes's homosexuality?

5. How does Nella go about contacting the miniaturist to request an order?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first disagreement between Nella and Marin, and who wins it?

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

3. How does Marin hurt Nella physically and why?

4. For what reason does Nella decide to visit Johannes at his work?

5. What is Otto's history?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sensory details are used frequently by the author in order to create vivid pictures of Nella's world in Seventeenth-Century Holland. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used by the author set a particular mood for each of the three scenes.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about the novel while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the depiction of the oppression of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the many instances of irony within the novel's narrative and analyze the author's purpose for including each instance you discuss.

(see the answer keys)

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