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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. Why didn't Mary ever step up as president at the college where she once worked?
(a) Because the student body revolted when they heard the news.
(b) Because the staff didn't want her in that position.
(c) Because the previous president returned to his post.
(d) Because she wasn't interested in the pressure of the position.

2. Why was Mary jealous of her colleagues when she was living in Amherst?
(a) Because they all love their jobs.
(b) Because they are all able to have children.
(c) Because they could relax at home after work.
(d) Because they all have happy marriages.

3. According to Mary, what should be the primary concern of any care giver?
(a) Creating an environment of safety and love.
(b) Creating an environment of stability and wisdom.
(c) Creating an environment of warmth and emotional strength.
(d) Creating an environment for growth and learning.

4. To what does Mary compare the "syncopated rhythms" of caretaking?
(a) Tapping one's foot.
(b) Heartbeats.
(c) Playing the drums.
(d) Love making.

5. Which of the women identifies herself primarily as a dancer?
(a) Mary.
(b) Alice.
(c) Joan.
(d) Johnnetta.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following films does Mary use to demonstrate her theories about traditional gender roles?

2. In what decade did family shelters first start to pop up in Boston?

3. Which of the following is NOT the name of one of Joan's children?

4. How many faculty members worked below Mary at the college where she once worked?

5. Which of the following items does NOT make up the decoration in Johnnetta's home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mary mean when she says that all five of the women in the book are "conservers"?

2. What was Mary Bateson's father's thesis in his writings about ecology?

3. Why did Jon need a blood transfusion when he was young?

4. In what way does Mary compare caretaking to music?

5. What prompted Mary's identity crisis after high school?

6. What is Mary's definition of wisdom?

7. What leads Mary to the statement that all five of the women profiled in the book are "idealists"?

8. At what times in their lives did Alice and Johnnetta most remember sharing, particularly food?

9. In what ways is leading multiple lives similar to having "heightened wisdom"?

10. How did Mary's views about discontinuity change as she completed this book?

(see the answer keys)

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