Quiz The Frozen River Ariel Lawhon

The Frozen River Quiz – 20 Questions to Test Your Recall

If you need a refresher, visit the book summary page or the ending explained page. For discussion of specific scenes, see the questions and answers.

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

  1. Who summons Martha Ballard to examine a body cut from the ice of the Kennebec River?

    • A) Dr. Benjamin Page
    • B) Amos Pollard
    • C) James Wall
    • D) Judge Joseph North

  2. Which medical professional contradicts Martha’s conclusion that Joshua Burgess was murdered?
    (Short answer)

  3. What item does Martha find in Joshua Burgess’s saddlebag that becomes crucial evidence linking his death to the assault on Rebecca Foster?
    (Short answer)

  4. Why is Joseph North acquitted of the rape of Rebecca Foster at trial?

    • A) The jury believed North’s alibi
    • B) Lack of eyewitnesses to the assault
    • C) Rebecca’s testimony was ruled inadmissible
    • D) North bribed the judges

  5. Who ultimately confesses to killing Joshua Burgess?
    (Short answer)

  6. What happens to Martha’s son Cyrus after Burgess’s murder?

    • A) He flees to Boston
    • B) He is arrested and charged with murder
    • C) He becomes a suspect but is never charged
    • D) He confesses and is sentenced

  7. What is the final outcome of the murder charges against Cyrus Ballard?
    (Short answer)

  8. At the very end of the novel, what does the silver fox Tempest reveal?
    (Short answer)

Character Motivation (5 questions)

  1. Why does Martha Ballard keep secret the identity of Joshua Burgess’s killer?

    • A) She fears for her own safety
    • B) She believes the legal system would not deliver justice
    • C) She wants to protect Sam Dawin’s wife May
    • D) Both B and C

  2. Why does Rebecca Foster refuse to nurse her newborn daughter at the end of the novel?
    (Short answer)

  3. What is the primary reason Ephraim Ballard travels to Boston in the middle of winter?

    • A) To buy surveying equipment
    • B) To hire a lawyer to defend Cyrus
    • C) To investigate Henry Knowland and present land evidence to the Kennebec Proprietors
    • D) To consult with Paul Revere about the Burgess case

  4. What motivates Dr. Benjamin Page to oppose Martha Ballard repeatedly?
    (Short answer)

  5. Why does Martha begin teaching Sarah White to read?

    • A) So Sarah can get a job at Dr. Coleman’s store
    • B) In hopes that her son Cyrus will court Sarah
    • C) Both A and B
    • D) To gain a witness against the gossiping women

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

  1. What recurring animal appears as a symbol of guidance, nature, and omens throughout the novel?

    • A) Crow
    • B) Silver fox
    • C) Falcon
    • D) Deer

  2. The frozen river serves as a central symbol. What does it primarily represent?

    • A) The unforgiving harshness of winter
    • B) The obstruction of truth and justice
    • C) The stagnation of the community
    • D) All of the above

  3. What is the significance of Martha Ballard’s diary (her journal) in the story?
    (Short answer)

  4. The epigraph quotes Rudyard Kipling: “The female of the species is more deadly than the male.” How does this theme appear in Martha’s actions?
    (Short answer)

Synthesis (3 questions)

  1. Compare Martha Ballard’ approach to midwifery with Dr. Benjamin Page’s. What does this contrast reveal about gender and medicine in the 18th century?
    (Short answer)

  2. Judge Joseph North escapes legal punishment but receives a brutal personal punishment from Martha. What does this outcome suggest about the novel’s view of formal justice?
    (Short answer)

  3. The novel ends with the Kennebec River thawing and Tempest’s kits emerging. How does this closing relate to the themes of loss and renewal?
    (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. B) Amos Pollard.
In Chapter 4, Amos Pollard summons Martha to examine the body cut from the ice. (Outline chapter 4)

2. Dr. Benjamin Page.
During the inquest at Pollard’s Tavern, Dr. Page declares the death accidental drowning, contradicting Martha’s medical opinion. (Outline chapters 5 and 10)

3. A strip of lace from Rebecca’s shift.
Martha finds the lace in Burgess’s saddlebag; it matches the one he tore from Rebecca during the assault. (Outline chapter 39)

4. B) Lack of eyewitnesses to the assault.
The jury acquits North because no one saw the rape happen. (Outline chapter 47)

5. Sam Dawin.
Sam confesses to Martha that he hanged Burgess after discovering Burgess had raped May Dawin. (Outline chapter 59)

6. B) He is arrested and charged with murder.
Based on Dr. Page’s testimony, Cyrus is arrested, though the charges are later dropped. (Outline chapters 34 and 46)

7. The charges are permanently dropped after Ephraim proves the arrest warrant was forged by Henry Knowland. (Outline chapter 58)

8. Tempest has given birth to four kits: one red male and three silver females, symbolising new life and the end of winter. (Outline chapter 62)

9. D) Both B and C.
Martha keeps the secret because she believes the legal system has already failed women like Rebecca, and she wants to protect May from further trauma. (Outline chapter 59)

10. The baby is the product of rape by Joshua Burgess, and Rebecca cannot bear to care for the child. (Outline chapters 55–56)

11. C) To investigate Henry Knowland and present land evidence to the Kennebec Proprietors. (Outline chapter 49)

12. Professional jealousy and a desire to assert male medical authority over midwives. Dr. Page repeatedly tries to discredit Martha to gain status. (Outline chapters 5, 14, 44)

13. C) Both A and B.
Martha wants to help Sarah earn a living and hopes the teaching will encourage a match with her son Cyrus. (Outline chapters 26, 35, 43)

14. B) Silver fox.
The fox first appears near the dead man and later guides Martha; it is a recurring symbol of nature, instinct, and change. (Outline chapter 2 and throughout)

15. D) All of the above.
The frozen river traps the body, blocks travel, and represents the cold, stalled search for truth; its thaw in spring signals renewal and justice. (Outline chapters 2, 62)

16. It serves as a reliable record of truth that Martha uses in court, and it preserves women’s stories for posterity. (Outline chapters 7, 10, 20, Author’s Note)

17. Martha turns deadly when cornered—she castrates Joseph North to stop his assault—and she demonstrates a fierce protective instinct toward her family and vulnerable women. (Outline chapters 58, 55–56)

18. Martha treats labouring women with respect, uses gentle remedies, and values experience; Page forces dangerous drugs like laudanum and ignores women’s wellbeing. Their conflict shows the 18th-century shift from female midwifery to male-dominated medicine. (Outline chapters 14, 18, 44)

19. The novel suggests that formal justice often fails women and the powerless, so extra-legal measures become necessary. North’s castration by Martha delivers a raw form of justice that courts denied. (Outline chapters 10, 47, 58)

20. After a winter of grief, injustice, and loss, spring brings new life and hope, though past grief remains like a scar. The kits symbolise continuation and the possibility of healing, just as Martha begins to accept her new home. (Outline chapters 56, 62; End-note about “I have been at home”)