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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 is the perk of the job Marlene mentions to Jeanine that has less pay?

2. Which new guest arrives during Act 1, Part 3?

3. What was Walter's final test of his wife's love?

4. How do the dinner guests react to Joan's story?

5. What occupation did Griselda's husband have?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why might Marlene have asked Joan if she considered not having the baby?

2. Explain the bullying going on in Act 2, Scene 2.

3. How does Louise's character parallel Joan's character?

4. Why does Marlene become overwrought and have to leave the room when the conversation topic turns to the women's lovers?

5. What might be a more symbolic reason Angie wants all the women to wear the perfume?

6. What evidence from the play supports Marlene's reason for bringing such nice gifts to the house when it was not Christmas or anyone's birthday?

7. How did Nell react to Shona's attempt to take control during their interview?

8. What sort of parenting style does Joyce have? Is any of it effective on Angie?

9. Of the two characters, Joyce and Marlene, which one thinks she made the right decisions in life?

10. How does Angie's desperation to connect with her aunt manifest itself through lies in Act 3, Part 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the interview between Marlene and Jeanine define the conflicts and sacrifices that women in the early 1980s encountered in the post-feminist world?

Essay Topic 2

What is the symbolic significance of Angie's dress seen in Act 2, Scene 3 as well as in other parts of the play as well? How does wearing the dress make Angie feel?

Essay Topic 3

How do the women in Act 1 serve as manifestations of particular aspects of the life of Marlene? Select three characters in your essay.

(see the answer keys)

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