White Nights, Fourth Night quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Nastenka ask the narrator immediately upon his arrival at the start of the Fourth Night?

   • Whether her grandmother has discovered their meetings
   • Whether he has spoken to the lodger on her behalf
   • Correct answer: Whether he has brought a letter from the lodger
   • Whether he has kept his promise not to fall in love

   The chapter opens with Nastenka demanding news of the promised letter, since three days have passed with no word.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How does Nastenka react to learning that no letter has come?

   • Correct answer: She turns pale, bursts into tears, and calls his silence "inhumanly cruel"
   • She immediately writes the lodger another letter
   • She laughs and insists the lodger will surely come tomorrow
   • She calmly resolves to wait for the lodger another whole year

   Nastenka's hope collapses instantly; she weeps and condemns the lodger's continued silence as cruel and inhuman.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the narrator confess to Nastenka partway through the chapter?

   • That he is leaving St. Petersburg
   • Correct answer: That he loves her
   • That he has met someone else
   • That he never delivered her letter

   Unable to stay silent while comforting her, the narrator declares, "It's impossible, but I love you, Nastenka!"

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Nastenka respond to the narrator's declaration of love?

   • She laughs at his confession, just as she did the previous evening
   • She accuses him of selfishness and of betraying her trust as a friend
   • She dismisses him, saying they must never meet again
   • Correct answer: She says she already suspected his feelings and could love him too

   Though still attached to the lodger, Nastenka admits she sensed the narrator's feelings and says she could return them once her heart heals.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What future do the narrator and Nastenka plan together as they walk?

   • Nastenka moving into his lodgings at Barannikov's Buildings
   • Correct answer: The narrator renting a room in her grandmother's house
   • The narrator giving lessons while Nastenka studies
   • Living on their own, leaving granny and Matrona behind

   In their euphoria, they imagine the narrator moving into the empty top-floor room of Nastenka's grandmother's house the very next day.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Who interrupts the narrator and Nastenka near the end of the chapter?

   • Correct answer: The lodger Nastenka has been waiting for
   • Matrona, come looking for the narrator
   • Fyokla, sent by grandmother to bring her home
   • A drunken gentleman in evening dress

   A young man stops in front of them and calls Nastenka's name -- it is her long-awaited lodger, returned at last.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Nastenka do immediately before rushing to the lodger?

   • She introduces the narrator to the lodger as her dear friend
   • She promises to meet the narrator again tomorrow at ten
   • Correct answer: She turns back to the narrator, embraces him and kisses him
   • She invites the narrator to come and meet the lodger together

   Even in her rush toward the lodger, Nastenka pauses to give the narrator a farewell embrace and kiss.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually happen in the Fourth Night?

   • Nastenka receives a letter from the lodger at the start of the chapter.

     Didn't happen

   • The narrator offers to deliver a new letter to the lodger himself.

     Happened

   • The narrator confesses his love for Nastenka.

     Happened

   • Nastenka immediately rejects the narrator's confession outright.

     Didn't happen

   • The lodger reappears and Nastenka goes to him.

     Happened

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'magnanimous' mean as Nastenka uses it: 'for I can only love what is magnanimous, what understands me, what is generous'?

   • Extremely cautious and careful
   • Wealthy and powerful
   • Quick to anger
   • Correct answer: Generous and noble in spirit

   Magnanimous means generous and noble in spirit, describing the kind of partner Nastenka says she needs.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'inconstant' mean as used in: 'don't think that I am so light and inconstant, don't think that I can forget and change so quickly'?

    • Loyal and steady in one's affections
    • Careless of other people's feelings
    • Continuing without pause or end
    • Correct answer: Prone to changing one's feelings; fickle

    Inconstant means prone to changing one's feelings or loyalties, which is exactly what Nastenka insists she is not.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'forsaken' mean as used in: 'If he has forsaken me now, if he has forgotten me, though I still love him'?

    • Warned beforehand
    • Correct answer: Abandoned or deserted
    • Treasured and cherished
    • Pardoned or forgiven

    Forsaken means abandoned or deserted, capturing Nastenka's fear that the lodger has left her for good.

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