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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. Where do Kitty and Charlie decide to meet?

2. How old is Kitty when she becomes engaged?

3. Before Walter specialized as a bacteriologist, what did he do for his vocation?

4. Which Italian city was Somerset Maugham staying in when he was inspired to write The Painted Veil?

5. After Kitty and Charlie consummate their affair, how does she feel?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Walter returns home, what clues lead Kitty to believe he knows about her affair?

2. In Chapter 1, what tools does Charlie use to reassure Kitty and why are they effective?

3. When Kitty tells Charlie about Walter's ultimatum, what is his response?

4. Walter claims he knew that Kitty had no feelings for him when they married, why did he still want to marry her?

5. Why is Mr.Garstin reluctant to take silk and become a K.C.?

6. Why does Kitty believe her rendezvous with Charlie at the curio shop are completely safe?

7. What physical feature of Mrs.Garstin does Kitty find most disconcerting and why?

8. Describe Dorothy Townsend's appearance as given by Kitty in Chapter 3.

9. What does Walter find humorous about Kitty's plan to marry Charlie upon her divorce from himself?

10. What reasons does Charlie give for wanting to remain married to Dorothy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of setting within The Painted Veil. Make sure to discuss at least three different settings and how the descriptions of those settings are integral in the development of themes and characters.

Essay Topic 2

A recurrent theme in The Painted Veil is that of vanity, and how characters react when their vanity is wounded or bruised. Compare and contrast vanity as exhibited by Kitty, Charlie and Walter and how it either shifts throughout the novel or remains the same. Discuss how each character reacts when their vanity is wounded and what this reaction infers about that character.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, The Painted Veil, Kitty makes several journeys. Discuss these journeys and how they function as a metaphor, a simile, or an allegory for the emotional journeys and progress she makes as a character throughout the novel.

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