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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. Mrs. Lembke bestows her favors in spite of what?

2. What does Mrs. Stavrogin want to find out at the beginning of Chapter 5?

3. Who acts as Gaganov's second in the duel?

4. Why does Lisa approach Shatov?

5. In whose house is Peter spreading rumors in the days before the fête?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where was Shatov's wife, Mary, before she returned to him, and what condition is she in when she returns?

2. Describe the events that take place on stage at the fête.

3. How do we find out whether Peter intentionally circulated rumors about Dasha to instigate his father?

4. Who is responsible for killing Mary and Captain Lebyatkin?

5. How would you characterize the opposition between Stepan and Peter?

6. What leads up to Nicholas' confession that he is married to Mary?

7. What plans does Peter seem to be making at the end of Part II, Chapter 4?

8. What stories are in circulation about Dasha's past?

9. What happens to Lisa after she hears about Stavrogin's role in Mary and the Captain's murder?

10. Describe Mrs. Stavrogin's relationship with Verkhovensky.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of the crowd in The Possessed? How do the gathered factory workers or the guests at the fête behave like one character with a unified will or behavior of their own? How does Dostoevsky describe the crowds? What power do they have? What weaknesses?

Essay Topic 2

Is Shatov's wife's pregnancy a source of real hope in The Possessed, or is the hope undermined by her infidelity and Shatov's murder? Does the childbirth redeem anyone in the book?

Essay Topic 3

What role does innocence play in The Possessed? Is it always sacrificed, as Mary Lebyatkin and Shatov are? Does it endure anywhere, in spite of Mary and Shatov's murders?

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