The Real Life of Sebastian Knight Study Guide

1. Where was Sebastian born?

• London
• Moscow
• St. Petersburg
• Paris

2. What does the narrator say was the immediate cause of Sebastian's and his father's death?

• A heart attack.
• A cold.
• A duel.
• Old age.

3. What aspect of their father does the narrator see in Sebastian's writing?

• his impetious behavior
• his restlessness
• his passion for women
• his perserverence

4. Where did Sebastian's father meet Sebastian's mother?

• Russia
• England
• Italy
• France

5. Virginia Knight abandoned her family because. . .

• Sebastian's father threw her out for being unfaithful.
• she hated Sebastian's father.
• she fell in love with another man.
• she knew she was dying and thought this would hurt them less.

6. What helped Sebastian's father forget his first wife?

• Sebastian.
• He met the narrator's mother.
• He never could forget her.
• Going to war in Japan.

7. After Virginia left her husband and son, she made her home

• in a small town in France.
• in Paris in the winter, Italy in the summer.
• in London.
• nowhere; she travelled constantly until she died.

8. When Virginia sent a note asking to see Sebastian, why did the narrator's mother take him?

• His father refused to see Virginia.
• She was curious to see her husband's first wife.
• The narrator's mother wanted to keep the visit from her husband.
• His father was away at the time.

9. Who attended Virginia Knight's burial?

• Mr. Goodman
• Sebastian
• Mr. Silbermann
• H.F. Stainton

10. Sebastian's father challenged Palchin to a duel, because Palchin. . .

• was rude to him in the street.
• insulted the narrator's mother.
• spoke openly about being Virginia's lover.
• accused him of being unfaithful to his wife.