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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. What did Mary know about that Matthew tried to hide?

2. What does Mary make Karl?

3. Who prompts Nina to remind Mary?

4. What does Edgar give Ciro?

5. What does Mary encounter on her way home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mary point out about Rowley's reputation and what is his response?

2. What does Mary say about why she marries Matthew Panton?

3. What is surprising about Mary's response to Edgar's proposal?

4. How does Rowley find the handgun in Mary's purse and how does that change the conversation?

5. What is passed around at the end of the party and what does Mary do?

6. How does Mary meet Karl Richter?

7. What are the topics of conversation between Rowley and Mary?

8. What does narration say of the villa in which Mary is staying?

9. What does the Colonel think of Edgar's prospects in his career?

10. Why does the Princess choose the restaurant they are at for the party and how is she disappointed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Plots are sometimes said to be either character-driven or action-driven. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think Up at the Villa is more character-driven or action-driven? Explain.

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

In chapter 8, Mary discusses her previous marriage with Matthew by saying that Matthew was charming, kind and fun until he was drinking and that even from the beginning she was distressed and ashamed of him when he went into drunken rages. Mary tells Rowley that she tried desperately to save Matthew from the drinking but that she couldn't, though sometimes they'd have horrible fights over it. Mary admits that she came to despise Matthew, knowing as she did about his secretive drinking and the affairs, but says she felt he was so dependent on her that she couldn't bring herself to end the marriage. Discuss the following:

1. Research and write a brief definition with examples of the term "co-dependent."

2. Do you think Mary is co-dependent with Matthew by the descriptions she gives of her behavior with him? Why or why not. Be sure to include specific examples to support your points.

3. In what other situations is Mary co-dependent? Be specific.

4. Do you think Mary is cured of her codependency by the end of the novel? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Up at the Villa takes place in Tuscany, Italy in the late 1930s. Discuss the following:

1. Research and discuss the political setting of Italy and Europe in the late 1930s. How do you think the political situation informs the plot of Up at the Villa? Explain.

2. Discuss the lives of Mary and her social group in light of what is taking place in Europe in the late 1930s. Do you think they are unaware of the pending horror that is about to be unleashed? Do their behaviors seem superficial considering that refugees are coming into Italy (not just Karl) escaping an increasingly tyrannical Germany?

3. Do you think a novel set in Europe in this area can be successful when it ignores the dire situation in Europe? Discuss your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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