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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm?
(a) Madame Lebrun
(b) Adele Ratignolle
(c) Celestine
(d) The Woman in Black

2. As they sail to the Cheniere Caminada, how does Edna feel?
(a) Sick to her stomach
(b) Oppressed
(c) Eager to experience a religious awakening
(d) She feels she is being liberated.

3. And what does Leonce do when Edna asks him to come to bed?
(a) He comes immediately.
(b) He stays behind to have another round of wine.
(c) He ignores her and reads the newspaper.
(d) He stays behind to finish smoking his cigar.

4. When Mr. Pontellier checks in on his sons, he thinks that Raoul has:
(a) A bizarre disease
(b) A strange animal with him
(c) A fever
(d) Been having nightmares

5. How does Edna react to the news she learns at dinner?
(a) She is skeptical.
(b) She is shocked.
(c) She is delighted.
(d) She has no reaction.

Short Answer Questions

1. Although they do not talk, what does the author say is happening between Robert and Edna?

2. What does Madame Ratignolle do to Edna that she first finds unsettling?

3. What does Edna call the piece she often hears Mademoiselle Reisz play?

4. What is Edna realizing about herself?

5. Where is Robert when Edna discovers his plan?

Short Essay Questions

1. Chopin uses the image of water as a symbol for what?

2. What is the first impression the author gives of Mr. Pontellier?

3. Why does Robert want to stay and talk to Edna rather than leave?

4. Edna and Adele grow close. How are they different?

5. What do we learn is different about Mrs. Pontellier from the other wives who summer at the Grande Isle?

6. Why does Edna cry so hard after her husband scolds her for being what he considers a neglectful mother?

7. Once Edna has returned to the cottage, she finds herself alone and contemplates her life. Does she feel that she has changed since arriving at the Grande Isle? Does she understand how these changes, however small or dramatic, could be life-changing for her?

8. Mrs. Pontellier and Madame Ratignolle have a heated argument in which Edna says she would be willing to give up anything for her children except for herself. What does she mean by this? And why does it upset Madame Ratignolle so much?

9. Why do you think Mr. Pontellier is so enraged at his wife when he thinks Raoul has a fever?

10. Despite growing closer to Adele, why does Edna still not reveal her thoughts to Adele?

(see the answer keys)

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