Our Wives Under the Sea Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes
Test your knowledge of Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea with this 20-question quiz covering plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. Answers and explanations are at the bottom. For deeper analysis, see the study guide or the ending explained. If you're stuck, the questions and answers page may help. Good luck!
Plot & Sequence
1. What is the name of the research organization that employs Leah?
A. The Oceanic Institute
B. Centre for Marine Enquiry
C. Deep Sea Research Group
D. The Marine Division
2. How long was Leah's deep-sea mission originally scheduled to last?
A. One week
B. Three weeks
C. Six weeks
D. Three months
3. What is the first sign of trouble on the submarine?
A. The lights flicker and die
B. The comms panel crackle cuts out and does not return
C. The hull begins to leak
D. The ballast tanks fail
4. What does Miri do when Leah first returns with bleeding gums and pores?
A. She calls the Centre
B. She takes Leah to A&E
C. She gives Leah salt water
D. She ignores it
5. What happens to Jelka during the dive?
A. She dies of a heart attack
B. She goes through the escape trunk and is lost
C. She is killed by Matteo
D. She disappears from the craft
6. What does Miri find when she goes to the Centre after Leah's return?
A. Leah is in quarantine
B. Leah has been released
C. The Centre is closed
D. Leah is missing
7. What does Leah do with the leather logbook at the end of the novel?
A. She throws it into the ocean
B. She writes her name and presses it against the window
C. She gives it to Matteo
D. She burns it
8. What is the name of the giant Pacific octopus Leah cared for at the aquarium?
A. Octavia
B. Pamela
C. Pearl
D. Marina
Character Motivation
9. Why does Miri initially try to take Leah to A&E?
A. Because Leah has a fever
B. Because Leah is bleeding from her gums and pores
C. Because Leah is sleepwalking
D. Because Leah refuses to eat
10. Why does Leah refuse to see a doctor after returning?
A. She is afraid of hospitals
B. She believes the water got in and there is too much water
C. She thinks the symptoms will pass
D. She does not trust doctors
11. Why does Matteo become increasingly hostile toward Jelka?
A. Because she eats too much
B. Because she hears sounds and behaves erratically
C. Because she refuses to work
D. Because she prays too often
12. Why does Miri avoid telling Carmen about Leah's condition?
A. She is ashamed
B. She is reluctant to confide and feels isolated
C. She thinks Carmen won't believe her
D. She is too busy
13. Why does Leah decide to stay below when power returns?
A. She wants to find the creature
B. She wants to see what they came down to find
C. She is too tired to move
D. She wants to save Matteo
Theme & Symbol
14. What does the recurring smell of burning meat symbolize?
A. The submarine's engine failure
B. The presence of the creature or transformation
C. The crew's hunger
D. The decay of the craft
15. What does the sea represent in the novel?
A. A source of life and comfort
B. Transformation, the unknown, and the unconscious
C. A barrier to love
D. A place of safety
16. What is the significance of the Saint Brendan figurine?
A. It represents the crew's hope for rescue
B. It symbolizes faith, intercession, and the sea voyage as a quest
C. It is a lucky charm
D. It reminds Leah of her father
17. What does the bath represent for Leah?
A. A place to relax
B. A refuge and a site of transformation
C. A way to hide from Miri
D. A reminder of the ocean
Synthesis
18. How does the novel's alternating structure between Miri and Leah explore the theme of communication breakdown?
(Short answer)
19. In what ways does the novel blur the line between horror and grief?
(Short answer)
20. What does the ending suggest about the relationship between humans and the ocean?
(Short answer)
Answer Key
1. B. Centre for Marine Enquiry
The Centre is Leah's employer and the organization that sends her on the deep-sea mission (Chapter 8).
2. B. Three weeks
Miri recalls that Leah was supposed to be gone for three weeks but disappeared for six months (Chapter 4).
3. B. The comms panel crackle cuts out and does not return
In Chapter 3, Leah notes that the first sign of trouble was the comms panel—the crackle of contact from the surface cut out and did not return.
4. B. She takes Leah to A&E
Miri initially tried to treat Leah's bleeding by taking her to A&E, but Leah resisted (Chapter 2).
5. B. She goes through the escape trunk and is lost
In Chapter 31, Jelka disappears through the escape trunk, which floods and opens to the ocean.
6. A. Leah is in quarantine
In Chapter 38, Miri learns Leah has been back for two weeks and has been held in quarantine.
7. B. She writes her name and presses it against the window
In Chapter 39, Leah writes her name in the logbook and presses it against the window for the creature to see.
8. B. Pamela
The octopus is named Pamela, as seen in the postcard Leah finds (Chapter 29) and Miri's memory (Chapter 12).
9. B. Because Leah is bleeding from her gums and pores
Miri found this terrifying and tried to get medical help (Chapter 2).
10. B. She believes the water got in and there is too much water
Leah tells Miri, “There was too much water and they let it get in” (Chapter 22).
11. B. Because she hears sounds and behaves erratically
Jelka begins hearing sounds the others cannot, and Matteo grows impatient and hostile (Chapter 29).
12. B. She is reluctant to confide and feels isolated
Miri withholds details from Carmen, reflecting on her reluctance to confide (Chapter 10).
13. B. She wants to see what they came down to find
Leah refuses to surface, insisting she needs to see what they came down to find (Chapter 37).
14. B. The presence of the creature or transformation
The smell recurs as the creature approaches and as Leah's body changes; it signals the deep's invasive power.
15. B. Transformation, the unknown, and the unconscious
The sea is a force that alters bodies and minds, and it represents the hidden depths of the self.
16. B. It symbolizes faith, intercession, and the sea voyage as a quest
Jelka uses the figurine to pray, and it connects to Saint Brendan's legendary voyage (Chapter 17).
17. B. A refuge and a site of transformation
Leah spends increasing time in the bath, which becomes a liminal space where she transforms and finds temporary comfort.
18. Model answer:
The alternating chapters give readers two separate perspectives on the same events, showing how Miri and Leah experience the relationship differently. Miri's chapters focus on the mundane details of caregiving and her frustration, while Leah's chapters are introspective and disoriented. This structure highlights how they fail to communicate: Miri hides her fears, Leah cannot articulate what happened, and their silences grow into a chasm.
19. Model answer:
The novel uses horror elements—the creature, body horror, the sense of being watched—to externalize the internal experience of grief and loss. Leah's physical transformation is both terrifying and a metaphor for the way grief changes a person. The ending, where Miri releases Leah into the sea, is both a horror and a release, blending the monstrous with the mournful.
20. Model answer:
The ending suggests that humans are ultimately absorbed by the ocean, which is a vast, transformative, and indifferent force. Leah dissolves into the sea, and Miri lets her go, implying that the ocean reclaims what it creates. The novel suggests that our relationship with the ocean is one of submission and awe, and that we cannot fully understand or control it.