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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 does the narrator consider to be the conflicting sides of Luciane's character?

2. When is the only time Ottilie does not take Otto with her?

3. What are Eduard's plans for Charlotte's future?

4. Which vocation does Ottilie decide she wishes to pursue?

5. What gift do Charlotte and Ottilie give the architect?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the general substance of Ottilie's fourth journal entry?

2. Summarize the reason for the solicitor's visit to Charlotte, which is related at the beginning of Part II.

3. Briefly summarize the story the foreign visitor tells to Charlotte and Ottilie.

4. Which of Luciane's experiments in "moral regeneration" goes wrong, which Charlotte hears about after Luciane leaves the estate?

5. What event at the end of Part II, Chapter 8, is saturated with both happiness and grave foreboding, and how?

6. What does Ottilie decide to embark upon as a career, and why?

7. Whom does Eduard meet when he walks through his own estate, and what is the significance of their meeting?

8. How does the novel end?

9. How do Eduard, Charlotte, and Ottilie act once they are all living in the same house together again?

10. What is the schoolmaster's general philosophy on teaching?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the themes of sin and repentance in the novel. What kinds of "sins" are displayed throughout the novel, and what acts (if any) of "repentance" are connected to those sins? In which ways do the various characters attempt to repent, and what are they repenting for? Do any characters exemplify the theme of repentance more or less than others? If so, what is the significance of this difference in the various characters' perspectives of repentance? What are the religious and/or moral significance or connotations of repentance?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Charlotte and Ottilie. How does the narrator describe them? How are their characters similar, and how do they differ? What is their relationship like at the beginning, middle, and end of the novel? What events, people, objects, or circumstances inform each woman's decisions, thoughts, feelings, and actions? What motivates each woman? How does the narrator treat each woman through the way he describes them and the specific language or tone he uses?

Essay Topic 3

Choose two minor characters and discuss their significance to the main plot elements in which they appear, and how their presence, actions, or influence contribute to the thematic development of the novel as a whole. What are these minor characters' relationships with the four main characters, what social class do they occupy, and what of their personality traits seem important to you in describing their influence? How do the minor characters interact with and affect the main characters of the novel? What specific role do they have in the plot episode in which they appear? Do you think these characters or their presence in the novel symbolize anything? Suggestions for minor characters include: Herr Mittler, the architect, Luciane, Nanni, the Count, the Baroness, the schoolmaster, and the Englishman.

(see the answer keys)

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