The Cherry Robbers Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

Test your knowledge of Sarai Walker's The Cherry Robbers with this comprehensive quiz. It covers the novel's plot, character motivations, key symbols, and larger themes. If you need a refresher, check the book overview, questions and answers, or the ending explained.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. What is the source of the novel's epigraph?

A. A poem by Emily Dickinson
B. A poem by D. H. Lawrence
C. A poem by H.D. titled "Eurydice"
D. A passage from the Bible

2. In what year does the main narrative begin, when Aster meets Matthew Maybrick?

A. 1945
B. 1949
C. 1950
D. 1957

3. What happens to Aster on the morning after her wedding?

A. She runs away with Matthew
B. She falls ill and dies after a violent episode
C. She is diagnosed with influenza and recovers
D. She argues with her mother and leaves home

4. After Aster's death, what happens to Belinda?

A. She becomes a recluse in her garden
B. She is sedated and sent to Fern Hollow clinic
C. She moves to New Mexico with Iris
D. She writes a book of poetry

5. Which sister is the second to die after marrying?

A. Calla
B. Daphne
C. Rosalind
D. Zelie

6. How does Daphne die?

A. She drowns in the ocean after swimming out
B. She dies in a car accident
C. She dies of influenza
D. She is killed by a gunshot

7. What does Iris discover about Zelie's plan in chapter 10?

A. Zelie has enrolled in Darlow's Ladies College
B. Zelie has booked a flight to Rome with Sam Colt
C. Zelie has decided to become a nun
D. Zelie has run away to New York

8. What happens to Iris at the end of chapter 11?

A. She boards a train to Santa Fe
B. She is arrested for trespassing
C. She drives off and collides with a truck
D. She reconciles with her father

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. Why does Belinda attempt to hang herself during her pregnancy with Aster?

A. She is angry at her husband
B. She believes she is dying from the pregnancy
C. She is forced to by her half-brother
D. She wants to escape the family curse

10. Why do Iris and Zelie bury and destroy Aster's wedding china?

A. To prevent the terrible event Belinda warned about
B. To punish Aster for ignoring their mother
C. To hide evidence of a crime
D. To follow a family tradition

11. Why does Rosalind refuse to cancel her wedding despite Belinda's warning?

A. She believes Belinda is insane and wants the life she desires
B. She is afraid of Roderick's anger
C. She wants to spite her sisters
D. She has already spent too much money

12. Why does Calla prick her finger with a rose thorn after Rosalind's death?

A. To test the sharpness of the thorn
B. To feel pain, which she believes is a woman's fate
C. To create a blood oath with her sisters
D. To punish herself for not saving Rosalind

13. Why does Iris decide to flee to New Mexico?

A. To escape the curse and pursue her art
B. To follow Sam Colt and Zelie
C. To visit Georgia O'Keeffe
D. To attend a teacher's college there

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

14. What does the "headless bride" symbolize in the novel?

A. The loss of identity in marriage
B. The fate of the Chapel women—death after marriage
C. The violence of the gun industry
D. The repression of female desire

15. What does the cherry blossom symbolize for Iris?

A. Purity and innocence
B. The transience of life and her shameful desire
C. The family's wealth and status
D. The hope of a new beginning

16. What does the "corpse flower" represent?

A. The beauty of decay
B. The Chapel curse and the inevitability of death
C. The mother's garden and her madness
D. The sisters' artistic ambitions

17. What is the significance of the Moondream dress?

A. It is the dress Aster wears in her casket, symbolizing the bride's death
B. It is the dress Rosalind wears at her wedding
C. It is a painting by Iris
D. It is a gift from Belinda to her daughters

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. How does the novel use floral motifs to connect the sisters' fates?

A. Each sister has a flower name, and flowers appear at moments of death and mourning
B. The sisters all work in a flower shop
C. Flowers are only used to decorate the wedding cake house
D. The sisters are named after trees, not flowers

19. In what ways does the novel critique the institution of marriage for women in the 1950s?

A. Marriage leads to death for the sisters, and Belinda's marriage is unhappy
B. Marriage is portrayed as a joyful escape from family
C. The novel shows that marriage is the only path to freedom
D. Marriage is never discussed in the novel

20. How does Iris's artistic ambition serve as a means of escape from the family curse?

A. She becomes a famous artist named Sylvia Wren and leaves for New Mexico
B. She uses her art to curse her sisters
C. She paints over the family portraits to forget them
D. She gives up art to become a teacher

Answer Key

1. C — The epigraph is from H.D.'s poem "Eurydice," as stated in the opening chapter.
2. B — The narrative begins in summer 1949 when Aster meets Matthew on the Cape Cod vacation.
3. B — Aster becomes ill, then howls, strikes Matthew, and dies after a violent episode; Dr. Green attributes it to influenza.
4. B — Belinda is sedated and sent to Fern Hollow clinic after Aster's death.
5. C — Rosalind marries Roderick and dies by Tuesday after the wedding.
6. A — Daphne swims into the sea and disappears; her body is never found.
7. B — A travel agent reveals Zelie has booked a flight to Rome with Sam Colt.
8. C — Iris drives off and collides with a truck, ending the chapter.
9. B — Belinda believed she was dying from the pregnancy, so she tried to hang herself.
10. A — They destroy the china to try to prevent the terrible event Belinda predicted.
11. A — Rosalind dismisses Belinda as insane and insists on having the life she wants.
12. B — Calla says "Pain and more pain. That's a woman's fate" and pricks herself deliberately.
13. A — Iris flees to escape the curse and to pursue her art, eventually becoming Sylvia Wren.
14. B — The headless bride appears in Iris's dream and represents the sisters' death after marriage.
15. B — The cherry tree reminds Iris of Veronica and her shameful desire, linking beauty with transience.
16. B — The corpse flower (chapter title) symbolizes the Chapel curse and inevitable death.
17. A — Aster is viewed in her casket wearing the Moondream dress, underscoring the bride's death.
18. A — Each sister has a floral name (Aster, Rosalind, Calla, Daphne, Iris, Hazel/Zelie), and flowers recur at funerals and key moments.
19. A — Marriage is repeatedly shown as a death sentence for the sisters, and Belinda's own marriage is miserable.
20. A — Iris reinvents herself as artist Sylvia Wren and escapes to New Mexico, breaking from the family curse.

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