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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the relationship between Hélène Lagonelle and the narrator end?
(a) Hélène Lagonelle leaves school without explanation.
(b) Hélène Lagonelle marries the lover.
(c) The narrator leaves for France.
(d) They have a fight and stop talking.

2. What does the narrator realize about the lover even upon the first meeting?
(a) He is afraid of her and she has power over him.
(b) He has no real interest in her.
(c) He is an intimidating person.
(d) He wants to marry her.

3. How many husbands has the mother had?
(a) Four.
(b) Three.
(c) One.
(d) Two.

4. How old is the lover when the relationship with the narrator begins?
(a) Twenty-nine.
(b) Twenty-one.
(c) Twenty-five.
(d) Twenty-seven.

5. What subject was NOT discussed in the houses where the narrator took her meals and spent much time?
(a) Literature.
(b) Religion.
(c) Politics.
(d) The arts.

6. In segment 13, what is the status of the relationship?
(a) It is finished.
(b) It is widely known but not acknowledged.
(c) It is highly secretive.
(d) It is widely known and accepted.

7. Towards the end of her life, the mother groomed herself for one final professional photograph. What was done to this photograph?
(a) It was retouched to make her look artifical.
(b) It was thrown out by the narrator.
(c) It was never developed properly.
(d) It was sold by the older brother.

8. What does the narrator describe sex as being related to?
(a) Life.
(b) Death.
(c) Love.
(d) Water.

9. How does the narrator feel about her situation as a "kept woman"?
(a) She wants to tell her mother.
(b) She finds it comforting.
(c) She finds it strange.
(d) She feels ashamed.

10. How did the lover end up back in Chochinchina?
(a) He missed his family and came back to see them.
(b) He was done with school and wanted to start working.
(c) He got bored with his life and wanted to go home.
(d) His father recalled him with the threat of cutting him off.

11. When does the narrator see imperfection in the lover?
(a) When he becomes acquainted with the family.
(b) When he turns down the sexual advances of the narrator.
(c) When he explains how his father amassed his wealth.
(d) When he refuses to pay a restaurant bill.

12. In segment 14, which of the following character or characters in the novel does the narrator state she remembers with the most clarity?
(a) Her mother.
(b) Her teachers.
(c) The two women who ran the houses in Paris.
(d) Her father.

13. According to the narrator, what showed things as they really were?
(a) Her own memories.
(b) Portraits drawn by a professional artist.
(c) Photos taken by visitors or strangers.
(d) Photos taken in professional sessions.

14. How does the lover describe his life in Paris, where he was a student?
(a) He lived in idle indulgence.
(b) He worked hard at a job.
(c) He was depressed and withdrawn.
(d) He worked hard in his studies.

15. In segment 13, who learns of the relationship and begins to attack it?
(a) The lover's father.
(b) The mother.
(c) The younger brother.
(d) Hélène Lagonelle.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the relationship between the lover and the narrator based on?

2. The lover fears that the narrator only wants his _______.

3. What would the mother do after she emerged from a depressive episode?

4. What group did the narrator join after the war?

5. Who often weeps?

(see the answer keys)

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