View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What ends up happening to the tulip trade in the novel?
(a) It never recovers.
(b) It becomes a national embarrassment.
(c) It skyrockets again, giving Ruth a lot of money.
(d) It is regulated and becomes more reliable.

2. What does the title of Chapter 4, "The Gallery of God's Mistakes," refer to?
(a) The cruel name Margarethe has to refer to both of her children.
(b) The mess of a household that is now the Van den Meers.
(c) The nickname for the town's church.
(d) A secret gallery of paintings Schoonmaker has.

3. Who does Iris dance with first at the ball?
(a) Schoonmaker.
(b) Caspar.
(c) Someone she doesn't know -- or like.
(d) Ruth.

4. Who does the Master tell Iris he views as responsible for bringing van den Meer to ruin?
(a) Henrika.
(b) Margarethe.
(c) Iris.
(d) Clara.

5. Why does Margarethe tell Iris that she is better off being ugly?
(a) Because she won't ever have to worry about getting married.
(b) Because she won't have to worry about people only liking her for her looks.
(c) Because beauty does not help anyone in the world.
(d) Because her husband won't have to worry about her getting ugly since she already is.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Margarethe after the ball?

2. Why does Clara decline at first to dance with the prince?

3. Who does Ruth suspect of kidnapping Clara as a child?

4. What kind of head piece will Clara wear to the ball to disguise herself?

5. What does Iris wonder about the night her family fled without their father?

Short Essay Questions

1. What key piece of information did Iris not understand about Margarethe's continued reference to the imp in their family?

2. What kind of perspective can Ruth offer about what happens to her family?

3. What does Ruth have to say about beauty in the Epilogue?

4. During their dance at the ball, what does Iris worry about with regard to Caspar?

5. What are two examples of juxtapositioned themes to her family's story that Ruth gives in the Epilogue?

6. What does Margarethe suspect is so wrong with the prince that his aunt, the queen, has to set something like the ball up to help him find a wife?

7. What happens in the dream Iris has the night of the ball?

8. What does Iris worry will happen to Clara if they are forced to leave the beautiful van den Meer home?

9. What exactly does Margarethe believe happens to her eyes after she has seen the Master's horrible paintings?

10. What reason does Ruth give for why she often appears inconsequential and stupid in the retelling of the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 791 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample