White Nights, First Night quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why has the narrator been feeling despondent for three days before the story begins?

   • Correct answer: Nearly everyone he recognizes has left the city for their summer villas
   • Matrona has encouraged a spider's web to spread across his whole ceiling
   • He cannot stop remembering a young woman weeping by the canal
   • His furniture is no longer standing in its usual position in the room

   He eventually realizes his gloom comes from feeling abandoned as Petersburg empties out for the summer season.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does the narrator do when he first notices the young woman crying by the canal?

   • He calls out 'Madam!' at once, the way heroes do in every Russian society novel
   • Correct answer: He hesitates, searching for the right words, and stops himself before speaking
   • He turns at once and walks away without looking back
   • He immediately offers her his arm and promises to protect her

   He nearly exclaims "Madam!" but catches himself, thinking the phrase is an overused cliche from Russian society novels.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does the narrator intervene when the drunken gentleman pursues the young woman?

   • He follows quietly, hoping the gentleman will give up
   • He shouts a warning to the girl from the opposite pavement
   • He argues with the man in vigorous language until he leaves
   • Correct answer: He crosses the street and confronts the man with his walking stick

   He crosses to the other side of the street, and the pursuing gentleman backs off at the sight of the stick.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What condition does the young woman set before agreeing to meet the narrator again?

   • That they meet only during the daytime
   • That he tell her his real name first
   • Correct answer: That he not fall in love with her
   • That he bring a mutual friend along

   She insists she wants friendship only, warning him more than once not to fall in love with her.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does the narrator compare his knowledge of St. Petersburg's houses to?

   • A pale, sickly girl whose beauty suddenly flashes and fades
   • Familiar strangers who never notice him on the Nevsky
   • A gallery of paintings he studies for pleasure
   • Correct answer: Old friends who greet him and confide their news

   He imagines the houses greeting him and sharing their news, treating them as personal friends.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why is the little pink house upsetting to the narrator?

   • Correct answer: It is repainted a garish yellow
   • New tenants move in and change its appearance
   • It catches fire and is badly damaged
   • It is torn down to make way for a new building

   The house he considers a friend is repainted yellow, and he mourns it as "disfigured."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does the narrator do immediately after leaving the young woman at her street?

   • He hurries home to his lodgings to dream about her
   • He returns with his stick to look for the drunken gentleman
   • Correct answer: He walks the streets all night, too happy to go home
   • He writes her a letter explaining his feelings

   He is too elated to go home and instead wanders the streets until morning, repeating "To-morrow!" to himself.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually occur in the First Night of White Nights?

   • The narrator rescues a young woman from a pursuing drunken gentleman.

     Happened

   • The narrator learns the young woman's name is Nastenka.

     Didn't happen

   • The narrator confesses he has almost no real acquaintances in St. Petersburg.

     Happened

   • The young woman immediately declares her love for the narrator.

     Didn't happen

   • The young woman agrees to meet the narrator again the next night.

     Happened

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "obtrusive" mean as used in: "Oh, obtrusive gentleman! How I blessed you at that moment!"?

   • Showy and boastful about one's wealth or position
   • Correct answer: Noticeable or intrusive in an unwelcome way
   • Modest, quiet, and careful not to attract attention
   • Slow to understand; dull or lacking in feeling

   Obtrusive describes the drunken gentleman's unwelcome, pushy presence -- ironically, his interference is what let the narrator become a hero.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "petrified" mean as used in: "all at once I stopped as though petrified"?

    • Bold, fearless, and ready for action
    • Calmed, soothed, and made peaceful again
    • Correct answer: Made rigid with fear, as if turned to stone
    • Childishly sulky and bad-tempered

    Petrified describes the narrator freezing in shock the moment he realizes the woman is crying.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "timidity" mean as used in: "women like such timidity; and if you want to know more, I like it too"?

    • Correct answer: A lack of courage or confidence; shyness
    • Gloomy sadness and a feeling of hopelessness
    • Rash boldness; a reckless lack of caution
    • Modesty about one's own worth or rank

    Timidity refers to the narrator's shyness, which the young woman says she finds endearing rather than off-putting.

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