Quiz The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1) Freida McFadden

The Housemaid: 20-Question Quiz (With Answer Key)

Dive into the twists of The Housemaid with this comprehensive quiz. Each question is based on the book's events, characters, and themes as revealed in the story.

Explore our book summary, questions and answers, or the ending explained for deeper insights.

Part 1: Plot / Sequence (8 Questions)

  1. What is the full name of the narrator/housemaid?

    • A) Nina Winchester
    • B) Millie Calloway
    • C) Cecelia Winchester
    • D) Evelyn Winchester

  2. How does Millie first come to work for the Winchesters?

    • A) She answers a newspaper ad for a live-in maid
    • B) She is hired through a temp agency
    • C) She is recommended by Enzo the landscaper
    • D) She applies after seeing a post on social media

  3. What troubling feature of the attic room does Millie notice on her first day?

    • A) The window is painted shut
    • B) The door locks only from the outside
    • C) There is a hidden camera
    • D) The room has no electrical outlet

  4. What word does Enzo whisper to Millie during her first day, and what does it mean?

    • A) Pericolo – danger
    • B) Attenzione – attention
    • C) Aiuto – help
    • D) Cattivo – bad

  5. What prescription medication does Millie find in Nina’s medicine cabinet?

    • A) Valium
    • B) Haloperidol
    • C) Xanax
    • D) Prozac

  6. What scheme does Nina use to get Millie accused of shoplifting?

    • A) She hides items in Millie’s bag
    • B) She calls in an anonymous tip to the store security
    • C) She plants a stolen item in Millie’s car
    • D) She bribes the cashier to overcharge

  7. After catching Millie and Andrew watching TV together late at night, what does Nina order Millie to do?

    • A) Clean the kitchen immediately
    • B) Stay in the attic after bedtime
    • C) Apologize to Andrew
    • D) Leave the house by morning

  8. What does Millie do to Andrew after he locks her in the attic in Part III? (Short answer)

    • She pepper-sprays him, locks him in the attic, and forces him to endure his own torture.

Part 2: Character Motivation (5 Questions)

  1. Why does Millie lie about her past during the job interview?

    • A) She wants to impress Nina with a more interesting background
    • B) She is desperate for a job because she is homeless and has a criminal record
    • C) She is trying to hide her affair with Andrew
    • D) She fears Nina will compete with her for Enzo’s attention

  2. Why does Nina actually hire Millie?

    • A) She needs help because the house is too large
    • B) She hopes Millie will kill her abusive husband Andrew
    • C) She feels sorry for Millie’s homelessness
    • D) She wants a friend to talk to

  3. Why does Andrew lock Nina in the attic in the flashback chapters?

    • A) To punish her for minor failures and to control her behavior
    • B) Because she refuses to cook dinner
    • C) To protect her from a burglar
    • D) Because she asks for a night alone

  4. Why does Enzo repeatedly warn Millie with “pericolo”?

    • A) He is in love with her and wants her attention
    • B) He knows Andrew is dangerous and abusive
    • C) He wants her to quit so he can have her job
    • D) He is secretly working for Nina

  5. Why does Millie decide to stay with the Winchesters after learning that Nina attempted to drown Cecelia? (Short answer)

    • She needs the salary, cannot lose her reference, and believes she can handle Nina if she is careful.

Part 3: Theme / Symbol (4 Questions)

  1. What does the locked attic room most strongly symbolize throughout the novel?

    • A) Wealth and privilege
    • B) Imprisonment, control, and hidden secrets
    • C) A peaceful retreat
    • D) The couple’s love for each other

  2. When Millie wears one of Nina’s white cocktail dresses, what does the dress symbolize?

    • A) Millie’s desire to become part of the upper class
    • B) Her innocence and purity
    • C) Her taking over Nina’s role as housewife and lover
    • D) A uniform for a new job

  3. Which theme is best illustrated by the contrast between the Winchesters’ public image and their private behavior?

    • A) The importance of family
    • B) Appearances versus reality
    • C) The power of forgiveness
    • D) The rewards of hard work

  4. What does the tracking app Nina installs on Millie’s phone represent?

    • A) Nina’s technological savvy
    • B) The constant surveillance and lack of freedom Millie experiences
    • C) A way for Millie to find her way home
    • D) Nina’s desire to keep Millie safe

Part 4: Synthesis (3 Questions)

  1. How does the three-part structure of the book (with Part II told entirely from Nina’s perspective) affect the reader’s understanding of the story? (Short answer)

    • It forces the reader to revise their opinion of who the true victim and villain are, revealing that Andrew is the abuser and that Nina and Millie are both trapped.

  2. Compare Millie and Nina: in what ways are both women victims of Andrew, and in what ways do they both become perpetrators? (Short answer)

    • Both are physically and psychologically imprisoned by Andrew. Nina manipulates Millie into the household and later into killing Andrew. Millie tortures Andrew in the attic. Both take control and use violence to survive.

  3. The epilogue shows Millie accepting a job with Lisa Killeffer, a woman with a bruise on her arm. How does this scene reinforce the novel’s message about female solidarity? (Short answer)

    • Millie, having experienced abuse and escape, now recognizes the signs in another woman. Nina’s recommendation of Millie to Lisa creates a chain of women helping each other break free from abusive men, emphasizing that support among women can provide second chances.

Answer Key

  1. B – Millie Calloway is the narrator.
  2. A – She answers an ad for a live-in maid.
  3. B – The door locks only from the outside, foreshadowing imprisonment.
  4. A – Pericolo means danger in Italian.
  5. B – Haloperidol is an antipsychotic, hinting at Nina’s mental health narrative.
  6. B – Nina calls in a false tip to have Millie stopped.
  7. B – Nina orders Millie to stay in the attic after bedtime.
  8. Short answer – Millie pepper-sprays Andrew, locks him in the attic, and forces him to hold books and later pull his own tooth.
  9. B – Millie is homeless and has a manslaughter conviction; she needs the job desperately.
  10. B – Nina hired Millie with the plan that Millie would kill Andrew, planting pepper spray and a key.
  11. A – Andrew locks Nina in the attic to punish and control her for imagined failings.
  12. B – Enzo knows Andrew’s abusive nature and warns Millie.
  13. Short answer – She needs money and cannot risk losing her reference; she resolves to be careful.
  14. B – The attic symbolizes imprisonment, control, and the secrets the Winchesters hide.
  15. C – Wearing the white dress symbolizes Millie stepping into Nina’s role as Andrew’s partner.
  16. B – Appearances versus reality is a central theme.
  17. B – The tracking app symbolizes surveillance and lack of freedom.
  18. Short answer – The shift to Nina’s perspective in Part II reveals Andrew’s abuse, overturning initial assumptions.
  19. Short answer – Both are victims of Andrew’s imprisonment and abuse; Nina manipulates Millie, and Millie tortures Andrew.
  20. Short answer – Millie uses her experience to help another abused woman, continuing the cycle of female solidarity initiated by Nina’s reference.