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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. After dinner in Chapter 13, what suspicion does Ned share with Cecilia?

2. When Frederick catches sight of Cecilia's leg, with whose great beauty does he favorably compare Cecilia's?

3. When Frederick tries to assert his status over Ned, what new identity does Ned reveal?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 20, what does the narrator say Ned would refuse to do if he could live his life over again?

5. What small building do Ned and Cecilia see fly past Darlington House while they are arguing about landing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where are the queen and Oply at the beginning of Chapter 19, and what are they doing?

2. What startling claim does Lady Armitage make about pneumonia in Chapter 13, and what related critique of Miss Darlington does she make?

3. When Ned realizes that Cecilia has a hangover, how does he explain it to her, and why?

4. When the guard catches Ned and Cecilia in the gallery, what does Ned chat to the guard about, and what is the real purpose of his commentary?

5. Describe Queen Victoria as she appears in this text.

6. What is happening when Ned and Cecilia argue about Ned intruding on Lady Armitage's "intimate presence," and what is their argument really about (144)?

7. What is the surface content of Jane and Cecilia's first conversation in Morvath's breakfast room, and what is their real purpose underneath this surface?

8. As Pleasance cares for the wounded Miss Darlington, how does their exchange about tea reveal both Miss Darlington's affection for Pleasance and the class divide between the two women?

9. What comparison does Alex make between Cecilia and her mother, and what is Cecilia's reaction?

10. What is Cecilia's reasoning for suggesting that she and Ned spend some time alone in her bedroom before they rejoin the rest of the Wisteria Society?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what sense does The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels comment as much upon modern Western society as it does upon Victorian society? How does this novel reflect our ambivalence toward the past and our mixed reception of progressive ideas? Support your assertions with evidence from the text; if you incorporate information from outside sources, be sure to cite these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the symbolic potential of the flying houses in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. How do the rules of propriety especially limit the lives of middle- and upper-class women in this text? What are some of the ways in which their flying houses give the pirate women a kind of freedom other women of their social standing lack? Why flying houses as opposed to flying ships--or just regular ships? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the symbol of flying houses in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, considering these questions as well as any others you think are relevant. Offer evidence from the text to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you explicate Chapter 26 and argue why it serves as a logical conclusion to the novel that has come before it. How is this chapter the logical culmination of the novel's plot, characterization, and motifs? Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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