Jane Eyre, Chapter XIII quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why must Jane and Adèle vacate the library at the start of Chapter XIII?

   • Correct answer: Rochester needs it as a reception-room for his agent and tenants
   • Rochester's luggage from Millcote is to be unpacked there
   • Mrs. Fairfax needs the room for entertaining guests
   • Rochester wants quiet to recover from his sprained ankle

   Rochester has business to attend to with his agent and tenants, so the library is needed daily as a reception-room.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What keepsake does Jane wear to tea with Rochester?

   • A golden locket from her mother
   • A silver cross from Mr. Brocklehurst
   • Correct answer: A small pearl brooch from Miss Temple
   • An ornament borrowed from Mrs. Fairfax

   Jane puts on "a single little pearl ornament which Miss Temple gave me as a parting keepsake" from Lowood.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Rochester mean when he asks Jane if she was waiting for "the men in green"?

   • Gardeners who tend the Thornfield grounds
   • Correct answer: Traditional English fairies from folklore
   • Highwaymen known to operate on Hay Lane
   • Soldiers from the local garrison

   Rochester is alluding to fairies from English folklore, teasing Jane that she looked like a supernatural creature when he first met her on the moonlit road.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What is depicted in Jane's first watercolour painting?

   • Heidelberg Castle on the Rhine, pictured in glowing fireside embers
   • A woman's shape rising into a twilight sky, her forehead crowned with a star
   • A colossal head resting against an iceberg beneath the Northern Lights
   • Correct answer: A cormorant holding a gold bracelet on a half-submerged mast, with a drowned corpse below

   The first painting shows a cormorant on a half-submerged mast holding a gold bracelet, with a drowned corpse visible beneath the green water.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does Rochester judge Jane's piano playing?

   • He praises it as exceptional, far better than any English school-girl's, and asks her to play on
   • Correct answer: He says she plays "a little," like any English schoolgirl, perhaps better than some but not well
   • He refuses to listen, saying a charity school like Lowood could never teach music, and sends her off
   • He declares her playing inferior to Adèle's, and insists she take lessons from a music master

   Rochester calls out "Enough!" after a few minutes and tells Jane she plays "a little" like any other English school-girl, "perhaps rather better than some, but not well."

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6. 6

   Question 6. According to Mrs. Fairfax, how long has Rochester been master of Thornfield?

   • From infancy, as the family's eldest son and heir
   • About three years, following the death of old Mr. Rochester
   • Correct answer: About nine years, since his elder brother died without a will
   • About twenty years, ever since he purchased the estate

   Mrs. Fairfax reveals that Rochester has "not been very long in possession of the property; only about nine years" since the death of his elder brother Rowland, who died without a will.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What literary work does Brontë allude to in the description of Jane's third painting?

   • Correct answer: Milton's Paradise Lost
   • Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
   • Dante's Inferno
   • Shakespeare's The Tempest

   The phrases "the likeness of a kingly crown" and "the shape which shape had none" are direct allusions to Milton's Paradise Lost, specifically the description of Death.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Rochester say about Adèle's intellectual abilities?

   • She is naturally clever, but spoilt and idle, and Jane's teaching has achieved nothing
   • She is too young to be properly assessed, but shows some musical talent
   • She is exceptionally bright and talented, and learned everything she knows from her mother
   • Correct answer: She is not bright and has no talents, but has made much improvement under Jane

   Rochester says "she is not bright, she has no talents; yet in a short time she has made much improvement," crediting Jane's teaching.

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9. 9

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

   • Rochester asks Jane to play the piano for him during the tea visit.

     Happened

     Rochester orders Jane to "Go, then, into the library; take a candle with you; leave the door open; sit down to the piano, and play a tune." She obeys and plays until he calls out "Enough!"

   • Rochester gives Adèle the present she has been asking about during the tea visit.

     Didn't happen

     Although Adèle asks about the present ("un cadeau pour Mademoiselle Eyre"), Rochester responds gruffly and the chapter ends without him giving any presents.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "meed" mean when Jane says praise is "the meed teachers most covet"?

    • A punishment or reprimand
    • Correct answer: A deserved share or reward
    • A drink brewed from honey
    • Something needed; a want or lack

    "Meed" is an archaic word meaning a deserved share or reward. Jane cleverly turns Rochester's praise of Adèle's progress into the "present" she has received from him.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "piquant" mean when Jane finds Rochester's eccentricity "piquant"?

    • Correct answer: Pleasantly stimulating or intriguing
    • Rude and offensive in manner
    • Confusing and disorienting
    • Annoying; causing irritation or resentment

    "Piquant" means pleasantly stimulating or provocatively interesting. Jane finds Rochester's unconventional behavior intriguing rather than intimidating.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "celerity" mean in "she proceeded to arrange the cups with assiduous celerity"?

    • Slowness and careful deliberation
    • Elegance and refinement of manner
    • Carelessness and haste
    • Correct answer: Swiftness of movement or action

    "Celerity" means swiftness or rapidity. Mrs. Fairfax arranges the tea things quickly and attentively after Rochester's terse demand for tea.

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