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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. Who comes to take Madelyne downstairs for her first meal after her fever?

2. What is in the chapel that Madelyne wants to retrieve?

3. Why is Madelyne embarrassed in Chapter 12?

4. Who is prettier than Louddon's sisters, Clarissa and Sara?

5. Who wants to save Madelyne but is refused?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author establish Madelyne as a good person in Chapter One?

2. Why is Madelyne repulsed at the meal in the great hall?

3. Who or what are some of the people or beings who appear in Madelyne's dreams while she is sick with fever?

4. Why does Madelyne do in Chapter 12 that causes Duncan's temper to flare enough to bellow?

5. How does it happen that Adela takes her first bath in months?

6. Why is Louddon shocked when he first sees Madelyne after she returns from years at the monastery?

7. How does a new found friendship with Madelyne transform Adela?

8. As Madelyne is planning her escape from Duncan, what obstacles does she think she needs to overcome?

9. What is Madelyne's reaction to killing a man during the battle?

10. What is Madelyne's reaction to hearing that Duncan and Gilard are going to war because of a sister?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Duncan admits that he doesn't like change, which Madelyne brings to his household. He believes that more change comes as long as she stays. What is Duncan's reaction to change? Is Madelyne a symbol of change in the novel? Why does Duncan want to marry Madelyne when he knows that she represents change in his life? Does he like the changes or is he merely putting up with change to appease her until she is his wife? Is Madelyne changing how Duncan perceives the world? Write an essay that discusses how Madelyne represents change in Duncan's world and provide examples from the novel to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Madelyne hesitates over saying, "I do" when she is forced to marry Duncan. Gilard takes a step forward and Madelyne quickly says her vows in an effort to prevent the brothers from fighting. Madelyne has a tendency to sacrifice herself in an effort to protect other people. Discuss all the ways in which Madelyne sacrifices herself or her best interest since the beginning of the novel. Are these sacrifices worthwhile, self-serving, manipulative, all for naught, or neutral? Why? How does Madelyne view these sacrifices? How do other people react to Madelyne's sacrifices? How do these sacrifices shape other characters' view of Madelyne? Provide examples from the book to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What is the function of Gerald in the novel and how does the author use him to contribute to the story as a whole? How does he relate to the Wexton men? How does he relate to Madelyne and Adela? Does the addition of this character advance the plot, reveal character in one or more of the main characters, provide the opportunity for allusion to Greek myths, something else? Pick three ways that the author uses the character of Gerald to advance some aspect of the story and provide examples from the novel to support your argument.

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