White Nights, Third Night quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What time does the distant tower bell strike, breaking Nastenka's hopeful mood?

   • Ten o'clock
   • Correct answer: Eleven o'clock
   • Midnight exactly
   • Nine o'clock

   A distant tower bell tolls eleven, and Nastenka's confidence collapses once she realizes how late it truly is.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Why is Nastenka so confident the lodger will come on the third night?

   • Correct answer: The narrator had taken her letter that morning, as she asked
   • She had recently met him on her grandmother's staircase
   • Her grandmother had learned of his return from Moscow
   • A letter from him had already arrived at her friends' address

   The narrator had taken her letter that morning as she asked, to the friends who would send it on, so she expects the lodger to answer or to come that same evening.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. What does Nastenka thank the narrator for early in their conversation?

   • For keeping her secret from her family
   • For helping her compose the letter
   • For introducing her to the lodger
   • Correct answer: For not having fallen in love with her

   Nastenka is relieved the narrator has not pestered her with romantic feelings, unlike other men she imagines in his place.

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. What briefly makes the narrator and Nastenka think the lodger has finally arrived?

   • A carriage stopping near their seat on the embankment
   • The slow chiming of a bell in a distant tower
   • Correct answer: Footsteps and a figure approaching in the darkness
   • A letter delivered to their seat by a messenger

   Both start with hope at the sound of approaching footsteps, but the figure turns out to be a stranger, not the lodger.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. How does the narrator respond as Nastenka's hope begins to fail?

   • Correct answer: He invents reasons the lodger might still come
   • He confesses his own love for her outright
   • He leaves her alone at the bench to wait
   • He urges her to give up on the lodger entirely

   He offers comforting explanations, such as the letter arriving too late, even though he does not fully believe them himself.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. According to Nastenka, how does the narrator compare to the lodger she loves?

   • He seems so serious and proud that she is always afraid of him
   • Correct answer: He is kinder and more open, though she loves the lodger more
   • He is still the lonely dreamer he described, and will never change
   • He is less worthy than the lodger, though she loves him more

   Nastenka openly admits the narrator's tenderness and honesty exceed the lodger's, even while insisting her love belongs to him.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. What does the narrator do the next evening, the day after the Third Night?

   • He goes home and writes a letter confessing his love
   • He follows her home secretly to discover where she lives
   • He wanders the city all night, as he did after their first meeting
   • Correct answer: He goes to her street, but feels ashamed and turns back two steps from her door

   Unable to stay indoors, he walks as far as her street but turns away in shame, then goes home more despondent than ever.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually occur during the Third Night?

   • A distant tower bell tolls eleven while Nastenka and the narrator wait.

     Happened

   • The lodger arrives just before midnight to meet Nastenka.

     Didn't happen

   • A stranger's figure briefly startles Nastenka and the narrator in the dark.

     Happened

   • Nastenka tells the narrator she no longer loves the lodger.

     Didn't happen

   Read the passage
9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these statements about the narrator's feelings and actions are true?

   • The narrator invents hopeful excuses for the lodger's absence.

     Happened

   • The narrator openly confesses his love for Nastenka.

     Didn't happen

   • The narrator suppresses his own tears while comforting Nastenka.

     Happened

   • The narrator refuses to walk anywhere near Nastenka's street afterward.

     Didn't happen

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'solicitous' mean as used in: 'How solicitous and friendly she was; how tenderly she tried to give me courage!'?

    • Acting arrogant and dismissive toward someone
    • Speaking in a formal, distant tone
    • Correct answer: Showing great care and concern for someone
    • Feeling suspicious and doubtful of someone

    Solicitous describes Nastenka's anxious, caring attentiveness toward the narrator that evening.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'disinterested' mean as used in: 'How disinterested you are! How truly you care for me!'?

    • Bored and indifferent to what is happening
    • Correct answer: Free from selfish motives; acting without personal gain
    • Extremely curious about someone's private business
    • Reluctant to help unless rewarded for it

    Nastenka praises the narrator's disinterestedness, meaning his kindness toward her asks for nothing in return.

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'presentiment' mean as used in: 'I had no presentiment that I should feel as I do now, that it would not all end happily.'?

    • Correct answer: A vague sense that something bad is coming
    • A vivid memory of something that happened long ago
    • A formal gift presented to someone in advance
    • Resentment or bitterness felt over a past wrong

    A presentiment is an uneasy foreboding, and the narrator says he had none going into that night's meeting.

    Read the passage