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Carl, Bélanger, THINK Sociology 2CE – Test Item File
CHAPTER 7
SOCIAL CLASS IN CANADA
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1) In 1965, John Porter described the features of class and stratification in Canada. He
wrote that “one of the most persistent images that Canadians have of their society is that
is has ____________ classes.”
a. three
b. two
c. no
d. six
Answer: c
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 131
Answer: c
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 133
3) Subita has a part-time job as a cashier at a grocery store. The money she receives on
her paycheque is her:
a. wealth
b. income
c. total net worth
d. dividend
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 133
4) Joshua is moving to Thailand to teach English classes. Because he will be out of the
country for five years, Joshua wants to sell all his material possessions including his car,
his furniture, and his electronics. The possessions along with the money that Joshua has
in the bank are valued at $50,000. This reflects Joshua’s:
a. wealth
b. income
c. prestige
d. power
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134
5) Statistics Canada conducts an annual survey of Canadian households that measures the
distribution of income. All households are listed, from poorest to richest, and then
divided into five groups called:
a. quartiles
b. quintiles
c. fifths
d. social classes
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 133
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 133
7) Between 1980 and 2010, the share of income of one quintile increased; the share of all
other quintiles fell during the same period. Which quintile saw their share of income
increase?
a. The richest quintile
b. The middle quintile
c. The lowest quintile
d. The third quintile
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 133
Answer: b
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134
9) A recent private-sector study showed that by the end of 2009, a little less than 4
percent of Canadian households controlled what percent of the total wealth in Canada?
a. 67 percent
b. 53 percent
c. 36 percent
d. 25 percent
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
10) In 2012, Canada’s Gini coefficient was 0.43, which is lower than that of the United
States. What does this mean?
a. There is less inequality in Canada
b. There is more inequality in Canada
c. Canadians have more income than Americans
d. Americans have more income than Canadians
Answer: a
Diff: challenging
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134
11) Jawanna works at the school cafeteria. When most students go home for the summer
months, the cafeteria temporarily lays off the staff. Jawanna is usually out of work
between May and August. This lack of stable employment is called:
a. residual poverty
b. transitional poverty
c. marginal poverty
d. relative poverty
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
12) Bill and Louise are a married couple with two young children. Louise works as a
daycare attendant, and Bill works as a mechanic at a garage. Last year, Bill was laid off
for six months. During that time, the family had to cut back on many expenses. This
family experienced:
a. marginal poverty
b. transitional poverty
c. absolute poverty
d. unemployment poverty
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
13) Malcolm was born into a poor family. Both of his parents were also born into poor
families. Even more, Malcolm’s grandparents were born into poor families. This reflects:
a. relative poverty
b. absolute poverty
c. residual poverty
d. transitional poverty
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
14) Statistics Canada uses three measures of low income. The first identifies families that
spend at least 20 percentage points more of their after-tax income on food, clothing, and
shelter than the average family of the same size. This measure is called:
a. low income cut-off
b. low income measure
c. market basket measure
d. twenty percent measure
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
16) Which measure of poverty defines low-income Canadians as those living in families
that have an after-tax income lower than 50 percent of the median income for all
Canadian families?
a. Low income cut-off
b. Low income measure
c. Market basket measure
d. Fifty percent measure
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
17) Which Canadian measure of poverty accounts for regional differences in the cost of
living?
a. Low income measure
b. Low income cut-off
c. Market basket measure
d. Relative poverty measure
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
18) Three factors that influence the impact of poverty on families are:
a. its type, its reason, and its solution
b. its cause, its consequence, and its result
c. its depth, its breadth, and its duration
d. its region, its amount, and the number of people it affects
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 134–135
19) Levi is a physician. He has the ability to get the nurses to do what he wants them to
do. He tells them what to do with the patients and when to do it. This ability to impose
his will on others reflects Levi’s:
a. power
b. prestige
c. wealth
d. income
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136
20) A small group of people who hold immense power are called:
a. the dominant culture
b. the chosen few
c. the power elite
d. the proletariat
Answer: c
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136
21) Roz is a 34-year-old public defense attorney. She is dating Peter, a garbage collector.
Roz is embarrassed about introducing Peter to her colleagues because Peter’s job has a
low level of respect and esteem. Roz is concerned about Peter’s:
a. wealth
b. income
c. power
d. prestige
Answer: d
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136–137
22) Of all the industrial democracies, which country has the greatest percentage of
children living in poverty?
a. Japan
b. France
c. Canada
d. The United States
Answer: d
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136
23) In 2001, which of the following was ranked as one of the top occupations in Canada?
a. Architect
b. Sports referee
c. Lawyer
d. Teacher
Answer: c
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136–137
Answer: d
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 136
25) Barbara has trouble finding a steady job, and when she does, it is always one that
pays minimum wage. Barbara is a part of the:
a. working class
b. non-working class
c. lower class
d. middle class
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 138–139
26) Angela has a Master’s of Business Administration and earns a high salary as an
advertising executive. Angela is part of the:
a. lower class
b. middle class
c. upper middle class
d. working class
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 137
Answer: c
Diff: Moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 139
28) The fact that Cindy attended an exclusive prep school, belongs to exclusive social
clubs, and was born into a wealthy and powerful family qualifies her for membership in
the:
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 137
29) Shawn’s father is a plumber and his mother is a cleaner at the high school. Shawn
comes from a(n) _________________ class family.
a. working
b. middle
c. lower
d. urban under
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 138
30) Rupinder’s father is a certified electrician and his mother teaches Grade 3 at an
elementary school. Rupinder’s family is part of the:
a. middle class
b. upper class
c. working class
d. lower class
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 137–138
31) Which of the following groups had the highest low-income rate among working-age
income recipients in 2010?
a. Off-reserve Aboriginal people
Answer: d
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 139
32) In 2010, which group had the highest percentage of people in the low-income
category?
a. Two-parent families
b. Retired couples
c. 18 to 64 year olds
d. Female-headed lone parent families
Answer: d
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 139
Answer: c
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
34) Wesley’s grandfather was a sharecropper, farming someone else’s land. Wesley’s
father was a farmer who farmed his own land. Wesley owns an international dairy
company that responsible for providing milk products to people all around the world.
This is an example of:
a. horizontal mobility
b. intergenerational mobility
c. structural mobility
d. exchange mobility
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
35) Pavlo started out at the company as a mail room clerk. After two years he was
promoted to the position of Administrative Assistant. After five years, he became the
Office Manager and now he is being promoted to the position of Associate Director.
Pavlo has experienced:
a. employment mobility
b. horizontal mobility
c. intragenerational mobility
d. intergenerational mobility
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
36) In 2009, many countries, including Canada, suffered a recession in which many
people lost their jobs and saw their investments and savings drop dramatically. This is an
example of:
a. horizontal mobility
b. structural mobility
c. exchange mobility
d. intergenerational mobility
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
37) Louise was a librarian who owned a home. After her husband’s death, she lost her
house and turned to alcohol to ease her pain. Now, Louise is homeless, living on the
streets of San Francisco. This reflects:
a. horizontal mobility
b. structural mobility
c. vertical mobility
d. exchange mobility
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
38) Dorothy is a hair stylist working at Cuts-By-Us but she has applied for a stylist
position at Super-Cuts so that she can work at a salon that is closer to her apartment. If
Dorothy moves to Super-Cuts, she would be doing the same job and making the same
amount of money. This reflects:
a. vertical mobility
b. structural mobility
c. horizontal mobility
d. exchange mobility
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
39) Children raised in poor homes are more likely to be poor adults. This vicious circle is
called:
a. the cycle of poverty
b. intragenerational mobility
c. intergenerational mobility
d. the relative poverty cycle
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 140
40) Which sociological perspective would accept that social stratification is necessary
and inevitable in any society?
a. Functionalism
b. Symbolic Interactionism
c. Conflict theory
d. Feminist theory
Answer: a
Diff: challenging
Type: MC
Page Reference: 141
41) Omar is a functionalist. He believes that the amount of pay associated with a job
depends on:
a. the number of men compared to women in the field
b. how important the job is for society
c. how much physical labour is required in the position
d. the amount of power that comes with the job
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 141
42) At the 20-year class reunion, classmates learned that David had become a millionaire.
Sara tells her classmates that, “David, like all self-made millionaires, made it because he
was smart and hardworking.” Sara supports the:
a. exchange mobility hypothesis
b. conflict theory
c. meritocracy argument
d. entitlement hypothesis
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 141
43) Which sociological perspective would focus on the subjective meaning of poverty to
individuals?
a. Conflict theory
b. Functionalism
c. Symbolic Interactionism
d. Feminist theory
Answer: c
Diff: challenging
Type: MC
Page Reference: 142
44) Professor Kagan is conducting research on the gender bias in poverty. Professor
Kagan is examining:
a. the masculization of poverty
b. the feminization of poverty
c. the relativity of poverty
d. the marginality of poverty
Answer: b
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 142
45) Which sociological perspective would focus on the fact that, around the world,
women experience poverty at far higher rates than men?
a. Conflict theory
b. Functionalism
c. Symbolic interactionism
d. Feminist theory
Answer: d
Diff: challenging
Type: MC
Page Reference: 142
46) Because of the cost of medical school, poorer students are less likely to become
doctors than higher class students. Which theorists would be more likely to examine how
this trend impacts social stratification in Canada?
a. Functionalists
b. Symbolic interactionists
c. Conflict theorists
d. Feminist theorists
Answer: c
Diff: challenging
Type: MC
Page Reference: 141–142
47) For Melvin Tumin, social inequality is rooted in a system that is more likely to
reward you based on:
a. what you know
b. what you do
c. where you start
d. what you like
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 141–142
48) Which social class is most likely to believe that social class matters?
a. Upper class
b. Upper middle class
c. Middle class
d. Lower class
Answer: c
Diff: moderate
Type: MC
Page Reference: 142
49) Leon is giving an in-class presentation on minimum wage earners in Canada. Leon
tells his classmates that 29 percent of minimum wage earners are:
a. under the age of 16
b. between 16 and 19 years of age
c. between 20 and 24 years of age
d. over the age of 25
Answer: d
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 145
50) In late 2009, the report called “In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty,
Housing and Homelessness” made the recommendation to implement a federal minimum
wage. What did they recommend this minimum wage should be?
a. $8.00 per hour
b. $10.00 per hour
c. $12.00 per hour
d. $14.00 per hour
Answer: b
Diff: easy
Type: MC
Page Reference: 144
ESSAY
1) Describe the class structure in Canada. Discuss the main characteristics of each of the
six social classes.
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 137
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 133
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 134
4) Describe social mobility in Canada and discuss the various types of mobility.
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 140
5) Compare and contrast the three components that make up the stratification system in
Canada.
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 134–137
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 139
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 134
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 141–142
9) Explain the feminization of poverty and give examples that support this concept.
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 142
10) You are a social worker responsible for placing children in foster care. You have
been asked to explain the benefits of placing a foster child from the urban underclass into
an upper middle class home. What do you say?
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 139
11) Discuss the different measures of poverty used by Statistics Canada and explain the
strengths and weaknesses of each measure.
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 134–135
12) Explain the meritocracy argument, and discuss some of the reasons why this is not
the only factor affecting social stratification.
Answer:
Diff: challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 141
13) Identify and describe some of the social policies designed to help the poor in Canada.
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 144
14) Describe the evolution of minimum wage in Canada. Describe the characteristics of
people who work for minimum wage.
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 145
15) Describe how members of the different social classes perceive social stratification,
class, and poverty.
Answer:
Diff: moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 142
TRUE/FALSE
1) Around the world, women experience poverty at far higher rates than men.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: TF
Page Reference: 142
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 134–135
3) Since 1999, all Canadian families have seen an increase in income and wealth.
a. True
b. False
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 134
4) Occupational prestige is based solely on the income associated with that job.
a. True
b. False
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 136–137
5) Wealth and income refer to the same thing — how much money a person has.
a. True
b. False
Answer: b
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 133–134
6) Among the industrial democracies, the United States has the greatest percentage of
children living in poverty.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: TF
Page Reference: 136
7) Students from working class backgrounds are more likely than upper middle class
students to talk about social stratification.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 142
8) A worker who goes back to school and gets a better job has experienced
intragenerational mobility.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Diff: moderate
Type: TF
Page Reference: 140
Answer: a
Diff: easy
Type: TF
Page Reference: 145
10) In 2009, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
published a report called “In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and
Homelessness.” The recommendations of this report are a reflection of the functionalist
perspective on poverty.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Diff: challenging
Type: TF
Page Reference: 144
FILL-IN-THE-BLANK
1) The ability to carry out your will and impose it on others is called power.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 136
2) Symbolic interactionists believe that the way that people perceive poverty and wealth
impacts how they talk about social class.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 142
3) People with high school diplomas and who may hold jobs that involve manual labour
are part of the working class.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 138
4) Transitional poverty is a temporary state that occurs when someone loses a job for a
short time.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 134
5) When compared to other industrialized countries, the United States has the greatest
percentage of children living in poverty.
Feedback: America, the U.S., the U.S.A.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 136
6) School teachers, skilled labourers, and lower-paid white-collar workers are part of the
middle class.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 137–138
7) Conflict theorists believe stratification occurs because different groups in society are
competing for limited resources.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 141–142
9) All Canadian household are listed from poorest to richest and then divided into five
groups called quintiles.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 133
10) Feminist theory suggests that the most important factor in social stratification is
gender.
Diff: challenging
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 142
11) In Canada, the small group of people who hold significant wealth and power are
called the upper/elite class.
Feedback: upper, elite
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 137
12) Dimitri’s father worked as a cook in other people’s restaurants, but Dimitri now owns
a small chain of restaurants. Dimitri has experienced intergenerational mobility.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 140
13) The low income measure defines low-income Canadians as those living in families
that have an after-tax income lower than 50 percent of the median income for all
Canadian families.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 134
14) Feminization of poverty is the term used to describe the fact that women are far more
likely than men to experience poverty.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
15) Peter was an accountant at the Bank of Montreal, but he moved to another branch of
the bank in order to reduce his commute time. He kept his same position and salary as an
accountant. This is an example of horizontal mobility.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 142
16) Marie worked as a veterinary technician the whole time she attended university in
veterinary medicine. Eventually she graduated and got a job as a veterinarian. This is an
example of vertical mobility.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 142
17) All of your material possessions, such as your car and your laptop, make up your
wealth.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 133
18) During a recession, workers who are laid off are experiencing downward structural
mobility.
Diff: easy
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 142
19) The meritocracy argument states that those who get ahead do so based on their own
effort.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 141
20) Reena and Samir are both college graduates and both hold well-paying professional
jobs. Reena and Samir belong to the upper middle class.
Diff: moderate
Type: FIB
Page Reference: 137
SHORT ANSWER
Answer:
Income is the money received for work of through investments. Wealth is all of your
material possessions, including income.
Diff: easy
Type: SA
Page Reference: 133–134
2) Identify and describe the three measures of low income used by Statistics Canada.
Answer:
The low-income cut-off (LICO) counts families that spend at least 20 percentage points
more of their after-tax income on food, clothing, and shelter than the average family of
the same size. The low income measure (LIM) includes those living in families that have
an after-tax income lower than 50 percent of the median income for all Canadian
families. The market basket measure (MBM) estimates the cost of a specified set of
goods and services in different geographical regions.
Diff: moderate
Type: SA
Page Reference: 134–135
Answer:
Intergenerational mobility refers to the change that family members make from one social
class to the next through generations. Intragenerational mobility occurs when an
individual changes social standing, especially in the workforce.
Diff: easy
Type: SA
Page Reference: 140
Answer:
Horizontal mobility refers to moving within the same status category. Vertical mobility
refers to moving from one social status to another.
Diff: easy
Type: SA
Page Reference: 140
Answer:
Functionalists suggest that social class is connected to a person’s ability to negotiate the
social world. Therefore, intelligence, drive, and personal choice influence a person’s
social class.
Diff: challenging
Type: SA
Page Reference: 141
6) According to the conflict perspective, what factors influence social class in Canada?
Answer:
Conflict theorists believe that social mobility rarely occurs in a dramatic way. Generally,
one’s parents and the opportunities they can provide determine social class. Parents in
positions of wealth wish to make sure that their children keep that advantage.
Diff: challenging
Type: SA
Page Reference: 141–142
Answer:
Social class and our understanding of it are relative to our personal belief system.
Because people in the lower classes have fewer financial resources, they are probably
more concerned with “bread and butter” issues. More prosperous individuals might try to
legitimize their prosperity by pointing to cultural and psychological explanations for their
success.
Diff: challenging
Type: SA
Page Reference: 142
8) According to the feminist perspective, what factors influence social class in Canada?
Answer:
Feminization of poverty is the term used to describe the fact that women are far more
likely than men to experience poverty. The poorest families in Canada are those headed
by a single mother.
Diff: challenging
Type: SA
Page Reference: 142
9) What were five of the recommendations proposed in the report called “In from the
Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness”?
Answer:
To adopt a goal that all programs dealing with poverty and homelessness are to lift
Canadians out of poverty rather than make living within poverty more manageable. To
implement a federal minimum wage of $10 per hour, indexed to the consumer price
index. To analyze gender-based differences in designing policies. To increase the
Guaranteed Income Supplement to seniors. To increase the National Child Benefit to
$5000 by 2012.
Diff: moderate
Type: SA
Page Reference: 144
Answer:
The class structure in Canada is composed of six social classes. The upper, or elite, class
is very small in number and holds significant wealth. The upper middle class consists of
high-income members of society who are often well educated but do not belong to the
elite membership of the super wealthy. The middle class consists of those who have
moderate incomes. The working class is generally made up of people with high school
diplomas and lower levels of education. The lower class is living in poverty. The
underclass includes the homeless and people living in substandard housing.
Diff: moderate
Type: SA
Page Reference: 137–139
Avec sa finesse de Latin levantin, aidé cette fois par une exacte
connaissance de son ami, Osterrek avait vu juste : le prince et
Madeleine n’étaient point amants. Ils ne l’étaient pas, quand, inquiet
pour lui-même de voir s’élargir la place de l’intruse, Osterrek,
d’accord avec la famille royale, avait, sous prétexte d’affaires à
régler dans son pays, demandé au prince convalescent quelques
jours de liberté et risqué la démarche au couvent de la Quarantaine.
Ils ne l’étaient pas davantage au moment où, satisfait de sa réussite,
le comte traversait l’Europe occidentale avec Stéphanie pour
regagner la petite ville suisse au nom italien.
Le prince et son humble servante n’étaient point amants. Mais
peu à peu, surtout depuis la nuit douloureuse, ils s’étaient
rapprochés l’un de l’autre jusqu’à former l’un pour l’autre, — parmi le
vaste monde d’où une providence ironique semblait les avoir exclus
tous les deux pour les mieux réunir, — un étroit univers. Dans ce
couple fortuit, l’homme exténué, inquiet, ne vivait que pour lui-
même ; la femme ne vivait que pour l’homme. Pareille union n’était
point ce qu’on appelle communément de l’amour, mais elle contenait
un des plus tenaces éléments de l’amour : l’habitude. Elle contenait
aussi, en puissance, la réalisation physique de l’amour : l’abnégation
féminine sans limite et le désir masculin freiné seulement par une
débilité passagère.
Osterrek avait perçu la formation de ce mystérieux amalgame et
jugé que ce n’était pas encore un alliage. Mais lui seul, dans l’hôtel
ou dans la petite ville, fut perspicace à ce degré. Pour les habitants,
l’aventure du prince et de l’infirmière, qui n’étonnait personne, ne
faisait aucun doute. On en parlait avec gaieté, sans antipathie. A la
domesticité de l’hôtel, la consigne était de protester contre tout bruit
diffamatoire ; le prince était toujours gravement atteint, disait-on, et
l’infirmière au-dessus du soupçon. En fait, Madeleine s’y voyait
traitée avec une exagération de respect servile, apanage des
favorites, et dont on se venge par un mépris caché. Des âmes un
peu basses pouvaient-elles admettre qu’un viveur célèbre et une
jeune fille indépendante habitassent jour et nuit le même
appartement, aussi libres qu’un couple en voyage de noces, et
pussent pratiquer sans plus une tendre fraternité ? Il y avait bien la
décadence physique du prince… Mais, d’abord, était-elle absolue ?
Et puis, même en l’admettant… Ici s’offraient de sadiques
hypothèses traitées sur le ton dont on parle des maîtres à l’office…
Tout cela, le prince s’en doutait ; mais son dédain de grand seigneur
s’en serait plutôt diverti. Quant à Madeleine, rien n’existait pour elle
que son dessein initial, et depuis longtemps elle s’était affranchie de
l’opinion, des propos, des actes du monde.
Pourtant, dans la petite cité lacustre, un autre homme
qu’Osterrek savait que le prince et l’infirmière n’étaient point amants.
C’était le curé de l’église blanche et noire, où Madeleine, chaque
matin, assistait à la messe, et, dans les rares instants libres que lui
consentait l’exigence de Paul, revenait parfois prier l’après-midi. Le
lendemain de la nuit douloureuse, elle avait osé se glisser parmi
trois ou quatre vieilles qui attendaient leur tour au confessionnal. Elle
y avait pénétré la dernière, et à cette grille de bois qui séparait sa
bouche d’une oreille invisible, inconnue, elle avait parlé. Singulière
pénitente qui ne venait pas implorer le pardon, mais poursuivait son
œuvre de sauvetage avec l’obstination de l’instinct ! Par cette
chance qui souvent échoit aux instinctifs, l’oreille qui l’écouta était
celle d’un jeune prêtre tessinois, vif d’esprit, pur de mœurs, mais non
sans ambition. Il n’eut garde de briser la trame mystérieuse dont
l’humble ouvrière racontait l’élaboration. Il l’approuva, tout en lui
donnant des conseils de prudence, dans un français incorrect, mais
qu’il pliait pourtant à la finesse nuancée de son esprit. Il ne demanda
pas à cette enfant, visiblement sans péché, si elle souhaitait
l’absolution. Madeleine ne la postula pas. Et ce silence réciproque
scella leur secrète intelligence.
— Si je puis vous servir, dit-il, avant qu’elle s’éloignât de la
grille… Vous savez mon nom : Abbate Giuseppe Nervi.
Quelques instants après, Madeleine le vit sortir du confessionnal.
C’était un tout petit homme, d’une corpulence enfantine, et dont la
soutane noire se faufilait comme une ombre entre les chaises.