1. Why did the French royal government fail to put into action and reforms proposed in royal ministers and how did this contribute to the start of the French Revolution?
2. What made Louis XVI agree in August 1788 to call the Estate General for 1789?
3. Describe two specific examples when the popular revolt in the late spring and summer of 1789 resulted in more radical actions by the National Assembly?
4. What was the difference between the Estates General and the National Assembly? Why was the change in name significant?
5. How could one argue that the French Revolution was a conflict over the nature of sovereignty? What were the competing arguments in this conflict?
6. What prompted the National Assembly to abolish the "feudal regime" on the night of 4 August 1789?
7. What were the "Rights of Man and of the Citizen"?
8. "The nation is essentially the source of all sovereignty..." So read the third article of the "Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen" drafted in 1789. Why was this a revolutionary idea?
9. Look at Figaro's monologue in ACT V. What is its significance?
10. Why might King Louis XVI have thought The Marriage of Figaro to be a dangerous play and banned it from being performed?
11. Do you think The Marriage of Figaro should be more associated with the Age of Absolutism or the Enlightenment? Why?
12. According to Count Almaviva, what are the proper roles for husbands and wives in marriage?
13. What social classes are represented in The Marriage of Figaro? What characters represent these classes?
14. What method do Figaro and Suzanne use in obtaining their goals? Can you give a specific example?