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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Most of their quiet or intimate moments are interrupted by _____________________.
(a) Zeena.
(b) The dog.
(c) The cat.
(d) The wind.

2. With Mattie, Ethan feels ____________________.
(a) Brave enough to stand up to his wife.
(b) Understood.
(c) Pressure to succeed.
(d) Bitter.

3. Why can't Ethan replace Zeena's pickle dish?
(a) It came from Philadelphia.
(b) It came from Paris.
(c) It was the last of its kind.
(d) It was a family heirloom.

4. Who almost runs into the elm when sledding?
(a) Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum.
(b) Zeena and Ethan Frome.
(c) Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hale.
(d) Mattie Silver and Denis Eady.

5. Wharton compares Mattie's hair to "a drift of mist on the moon," which suggests ___________________________.
(a) Fantasy and impermanence.
(b) Ugliness and coarseness.
(c) Fear and doom.
(d) Logic and reality.

6. Why is Zeena still awake when Ethan and Mattie arrive at home?
(a) She claims she felt so mean she could not sleep.
(b) She claims she was too cold to sleep.
(c) She claims she was jealous of Mattie and Ethan.
(d) She claims she was worried about them in the storm.

7. Mattie quickly moves from Zeena's chair as if ____________________________________.
(a) She can not stand the scrutiny of Ethan's gaze.
(b) She does not want to fill Zeena's place in Ethan's life.
(c) Feels guilty over her affair with Ethan.
(d) She feels a sense of Zeena's presence there.

8. While they walk home, Ethan expresses his concern that Mattie will __________________________.
(a) Get a cold from walking home so often.
(b) Leave them soon to find another job.
(c) Get a bad reputation for dancing with so many men.
(d) Leave them soon to get married.

9. Why does Ethan hide outside the church when waiting for Mattie?
(a) He is waiting to see if she is going to ride home with her friends.
(b) He is afraid to enter the church because he does not know anyone.
(c) He does not know where Mattie is.
(d) He is waiting to see if she will accept Eady's marriage proposal.

10. Ethan and Mattie talk frankly for the first time about __________________.
(a) Ethan's business.
(b) Their love for each other.
(c) Mattie's desire to leave.
(d) Zeena.

11. What motif continues to suggest a promise of happiness or well-being for Ethan at the start of Chapter 4?
(a) The motif of light.
(b) The motif of color.
(c) The motif of water.
(d) The motif of darkness.

12. Zeena's cat ____________________________.
(a) Watches them through narrowed eyes.
(b) Falls asleep on top of Mattie's sewing.
(c) Claws at Mattie when she sits in Zeena's chair.
(d) Watches Ethan and hisses at him.

13. When Ethan returned to Starkfield, he missed ____________________________.
(a) Dances where he might meet girls.
(b) The chance to discuss business among men.
(c) Friendly interactions with his classmates.
(d) The chance to study astronomy.

14. The smoke and haze from Ethan's pipe might represent ___________________________.
(a) Societal oppression.
(b) The threat of death.
(c) Zeena's ghost.
(d) Confusion of reality.

15. Ethan is dismayed to find ________________________.
(a) Mattie dancing happily with the grocer's son.
(b) Mattie standing alone in a corner.
(c) Mattie has disappeared into the crowd.
(d) Mattie is forced to dance with an undesirable partner.

Short Answer Questions

1. While Ethan warms himself by the stove, Mattie _______________________.

2. Ethan tries to disguise Mattie's unskilled efforts at housekeeping by ______________________________.

3. When Zeena opens the door, Ethan is surprised by _______________________.

4. Ethan claims he needs to collect money from Mr. Hale because ____________________________________.

5. Ethan dreads Zeena's trips to the doctor because _____________________________.

(see the answer keys)

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