Nettle & Bone Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Character, and Theme

Test your knowledge of T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone with this 20-question quiz. Questions span plot, character motivation, theme, and synthesis, with a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer formats. The complete answer key with explanations appears at the end. Good luck!

If you need a refresher, check the book overview or the ending explained.

For deeper discussion, see the questions and answers.

Plot and Sequence Questions (1–8)

1. What is the first task the dust-wife sets for Marra?

A) Build a bone dog
B) Sew a cloak of owlcloth and nettles
C) Catch moonlight in a clay jar
D) Spin thread from nettle wool

2. List the three tasks in the order Marra attempts them.

3. What happens to Damia, Marra's eldest sister?

A) She dies in childbirth
B) She dies from a fall while pregnant
C) She runs away with a knight
D) She becomes queen

4. Why does Marra go to the convent at age fifteen?

A) She chooses to become a nun
B) The prince does not want her to bear children that could challenge Kania's heirs
C) She is sent away for misbehavior
D) She wants to study knitting

5. What does Marra learn from the godmother in the temple?

A) The godmother is actually blessing the royal babies
B) The godmother has been cursing the royal babies for centuries
C) The godmother is Marra's mother
D) The godmother can be killed by a mortal

6. How does the group enter the catacombs?

A) Through the palace main gate
B) Through a haunted quarry entrance
C) Through a secret door in the temple
D) Through the goblin market

7. What happens to Bonedog at the christening?

A) He is destroyed by a halberd
B) He runs away
C) He becomes a real dog
D) He kills Vorling

8. After Vorling's death, who declares herself regent?

A) Marra
B) The queen mother
C) Kania
D) Agnes

Character Motivation Questions (9–13)

9. Why does Marra seek out the dust-wife? (Short answer)

10. Why does the dust-wife set impossible tasks for Marra?

A) To test her dedication
B) Because she wants Marra to fail so she won't have to help
C) To teach her magic
D) To delay her

11. Why does Fenris stay with Marra after being freed?

A) He owes her a debt
B) He has nowhere else to go and wants to help
C) He is under a spell
D) He wants to return to the goblin market

12. Why does Agnes agree to accompany Marra and the dust-wife?

A) She wants revenge on the godmother
B) She feels responsible for the curse
C) She is Marra's godmother and wants to help her
D) She is bored

13. Why does the dust-wife stay behind in the temple?

A) She is too weak to continue
B) She wants to seal the door to prevent pursuit
C) She decides to live there
D) She is captured

Theme and Symbol Questions (14–17)

14. What does the bone dog symbolize? (Short answer)

15. What does the nettle cloak represent?

A) Marra's sacrifice and determination
B) The power of nature
C) The dust-wife's magic
D) The prince's cruelty

16. What does the moonlight in a jar symbolize?

A) The impossibility of the task
B) Hope and guidance
C) The dust-wife's power
D) Marra's innocence

17. What does the goblin market represent?

A) The dangers of desire and sacrifice
B) A place of healing
C) A neutral ground
D) The power of money

Synthesis Questions (18–20)

18. How does Marra's character change from the beginning to the end of the novel? (Short answer)

19. What is the role of the dust-wife in the story? (Short answer)

20. How does the novel subvert traditional fairy tale tropes? (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. B – The dust-wife assigns Marra the first task of spinning thread from painful, enchanted nettle wool to sew a cloak of owlcloth (Chapter 7).

2. Sew a cloak of owlcloth and nettles; build a dog of cursed bones; catch moonlight in a jar of clay. Marra completes the cloak, builds the bone dog (though it runs away), and later learns the moonlight task was already fulfilled (Chapters 1, 7).

3. B – Damia reportedly died from a fall while pregnant, though the queen later reveals Vorling killed her (Chapters 2, 5).

4. B – The prince does not want Marra to bear children that could challenge Kania's future heirs, so she is sent to the convent (Chapter 2).

5. B – The godmother reveals she has been cursing the royal babies for centuries, not blessing them (Chapter 15).

6. B – The group enters the catacombs through a haunted quarry entrance (Chapter 17).

7. A – Bonedog attacks the guards and is destroyed by a halberd (Chapter 21).

8. C – Kania declares herself regent for her infant son (Chapter 21).

9. Marra seeks the dust-wife to get a spell to kill Prince Vorling, who abuses her sister Kania and killed Damia (Chapter 6).

10. B – The dust-wife admits she set impossible tasks hoping Marra would fail, but Marra succeeded (Chapter 7).

11. B – Fenris has nowhere to return to and chooses to help Marra, later becoming a loyal companion (Chapters 9–10).

12. C – Agnes is Marra's godmother and wants to help her, joining the quest after learning the plan (Chapter 11).

13. B – The dust-wife seals the door to prevent pursuit and stays behind, allowing the others to escape (Chapter 20).

14. The bone dog symbolizes loyalty, resurrection, and second chances—Marra gives it a new life, and it remains faithful to her (Chapters 1, 22).

15. A – The nettle cloak represents Marra's sacrifice and determination; she endures pain and injury to make it (Chapter 7).

16. B – The moonlight in a jar symbolizes hope and guidance; it is already fulfilled, suggesting the quest is blessed (Chapter 7).

17. A – The goblin market represents the dangers of desire and sacrifice, where life, teeth, and years are traded (Chapter 8).

18. Marra transforms from a passive, overlooked princess into an active agent who takes risks, leads the quest, and ultimately saves her sister and frees Fenris (Chapters 1–22).

19. The dust-wife serves as a mentor and powerful ally, providing magical aid and ultimately sacrificing herself to break the curse and free the godmother (Chapters 7, 19–20).

20. The novel subverts fairy tale tropes by featuring a princess who does the rescuing, a godmother who curses, and a quest driven by justice rather than romantic love (Chapters 15, 21).