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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. How many dolls total are left on the front step of the Brandt household?

2. What is NOT another meaning of the French word "Enceinte" (257) in addition to its meaning of being pregnant, according to Marin?

3. For what reason does Nella allow Cornelia to look inside the cabinet house during the scene when Cornelia finds the doll resembling Marin?

4. In her frustration, Nella thinks to herself at one point that whenever she searches for the miniaturist, she finds only what instead?

5. Nella dreams of which character "wearing one of Marin's animal skulls upon his curly head" (180)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Johannes mean when he says that he has married a child and that he has done it for Marin?

2. What two items does Nella say "beautifully define [Marin's] infuriating contradictions and what does Nella mean?

3. What is the significance of the loaf of sugar that Agnes's doll holds in its hand?

4. What act does Johannes tell Marin he has undertaken for her and "against the counsel" (219) of his soul?

5. For what reason does Hanna have to destroy all of the bakery's gingerbread families?

6. When Nella receives eight dolls from the miniaturist, what two items is the doll made in her own likeness holding in its tiny hands? What is the significance of each item?

7. How does the destruction of the gingerbread families act as an element of foreshadowing?

8. How is the theme of transformation referenced in the scene after Rezeki's death?

9. What is Marin about to do when Nella enters her room in Part Three: “Hidden Bodies"? Why?

10. What admissions does Marin make to Nella in Part Three: “Hidden Bodies"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Individual versus Society is demonstrated within Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist.

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.

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