Jane Eyre, Chapter XI quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Where does Jane wait at the beginning of Chapter 11 before being picked up?

   • Correct answer: The George Inn at Millcote
   • Thornfield Hall's front gate
   • The village of Hay
   • The Millcote train station

   Jane waits at the George Inn in Millcote after arriving by coach from Lowton, anxiously hoping someone will come to collect her.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Jane initially assume about Mrs. Fairfax's position at Thornfield?

   • That she is Mr. Rochester's sister
   • That she is one of the house servants
   • Correct answer: That she is the owner of Thornfield
   • That she is Mr. Rochester's wife

   Jane initially believes Mrs. Fairfax is the owner and her employer. She is surprised to learn that Mrs. Fairfax is merely the housekeeper and that the true owner is Mr. Rochester.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What is Adèle Varens's relationship to Mr. Rochester?

   • She is his niece
   • Correct answer: She is his ward
   • She is his cousin's child
   • She is his daughter

   Mrs. Fairfax explains that Adèle is Mr. Rochester's ward. He commissioned Mrs. Fairfax to find a governess for the girl.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Adèle perform for Jane after breakfast?

   • A prayer and a French lesson
   • A Shakespeare soliloquy and a folk song
   • A piano recital and a dance
   • Correct answer: An opera song and a La Fontaine fable

   Adèle sings a canzonette about a forsaken lady and then recites "La Ligue des Rats," a fable by La Fontaine, both taught to her by her deceased mother.

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5. 5

   Question 5. To what does Jane compare the dark third-floor corridor at Thornfield?

   • Correct answer: A corridor in some Bluebeard's castle
   • A vault beneath an old cathedral
   • The bare dormitory at Lowood School
   • The red-room at Gateshead Hall

   Jane describes the narrow, dim corridor with its two rows of small black doors as looking "like a corridor in some Bluebeard's castle," alluding to the fairy tale about a man who hides murdered wives behind a locked door.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Mrs. Fairfax explain the mysterious laugh Jane hears on the third floor?

   • She says it was a ghost
   • Correct answer: She attributes it to Grace Poole
   • She denies hearing anything
   • She says it was the wind

   Mrs. Fairfax says the laugh likely came from Grace Poole, a servant who sews in one of the third-floor rooms, adding that Grace and Leah "are frequently noisy together."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What is Mrs. Fairfax's connection to the Rochester family?

   • She has no connection to the family at all
   • She is Mr. Rochester's aunt on his mother's side
   • Correct answer: Her late husband was a second cousin to Rochester's mother
   • She was Mr. Rochester's governess when he was a boy

   Mrs. Fairfax explains that her late husband, a clergyman, was a second cousin to the present Mr. Rochester's mother, who was a Fairfax. She insists she does not presume on this distant connection.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What Shakespeare play does Jane quote when discussing the Rochester family history?

   • King Lear
   • Othello
   • Hamlet
   • Correct answer: Macbeth

   After Mrs. Fairfax mentions that the Rochesters were "rather a violent than a quiet race," Jane mutters "after life's fitful fever they sleep well," a quotation from Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 2).

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • True or False: Jane meets Mr. Rochester during her first day at Thornfield Hall.

     Didn't happen

     Mr. Rochester is absent from Thornfield throughout Chapter 11. Jane only learns of his existence through Mrs. Fairfax and does not meet him until a later chapter.

   • True or False: Jane feels relieved when she discovers that Mrs. Fairfax is a housekeeper rather than the estate's owner.

     Happened

     Jane notes that the discovery made her feel "better pleased than ever," because "the equality between her and me was real; not the mere result of condescension on her part."

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10. 10

    Question 10. In the sentence "the laugh was as tragic, as preternatural a laugh as any I ever heard," what does "preternatural" mean?

    • Correct answer: Beyond what is normal or natural; suggesting the supernatural
    • Coming before what is natural or expected; early or premature
    • Deliberately theatrical; staged or exaggerated for effect
    • Deeply sorrowful or mournful; full of grief and regret

    "Preternatural" means beyond the ordinary course of nature. Jane uses it to describe the laugh as eerily unnatural and unsettling, hinting at something beyond simple human behavior.

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11. 11

    Question 11. When Jane describes her position as "all the freer" because the equality was "not the mere result of condescension," what does "condescension" mean?

    • Reluctant acceptance of a situation
    • Friendly conversation between equals
    • Correct answer: A patronizing attitude of superiority
    • A formal agreement between employer and employee

    "Condescension" refers to behavior that implies one is graciously lowering oneself to interact with someone of lower status. Jane is relieved that Mrs. Fairfax's kindness stems from genuine equality rather than patronizing superiority.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "cachinnation" mean in the sentence "no circumstance of ghostliness accompanied the curious cachinnation"?

    • A mysterious silence
    • Correct answer: Loud or excessive laughter
    • A loud fit of sobbing or weeping
    • A whispered conversation

    "Cachinnation" means loud, unrestrained laughter. Jane uses this formal, almost clinical term to describe the eerie laugh she hears on the third floor, which contrasts with the word's clinical tone to heighten the unsettling effect.

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