Jane Eyre, Chapter XIV quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why do Rochester's dinner guests leave early on the evening of Chapter XIV?

   • They are called away on urgent family business
   • A storm makes the roads impassable
   • Correct answer: They must attend a public meeting at Millcote
   • Rochester offends them during dinner

   Mrs. Fairfax informs Jane that the gentlemen left early to attend a public meeting at Millcote, and Rochester stayed behind because the night was wet and inclement.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What is Adele's reaction when she sees the carton on the dining-room table?

   • She waits quietly for permission to open it
   • Correct answer: She runs toward it exclaiming "Ma boite! ma boite!"
   • She hides behind Jane, suddenly timid and shy
   • She begs Mrs. Fairfax to unfasten the cord

   Adele immediately recognizes the gift box "by instinct" and runs toward it exclaiming "Ma boite! ma boite!" showing her excitement.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What answer does Jane give when Rochester asks if she thinks him handsome?

   • "Beauty is of little consequence, sir"
   • "I would rather not say, sir"
   • "Yes, sir, very handsome"
   • Correct answer: "No, sir"

   Jane's honest answer — "No, sir" — slips out before she can compose a polite response. She later says she should have given a diplomatic answer about tastes differing.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Rochester compare himself to when describing how life has hardened him?

   • Correct answer: An India-rubber ball, hard and tough
   • An old oak tree, bent but unbroken
   • A rusty nail, cankered and corroded
   • A piece of flint, hard and unyielding

   Rochester says Fortune has "kneaded me with her knuckles" until he flatters himself he is "hard and tough as an India-rubber ball; pervious, though, through a chink or two still."

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5. 5

   Question 5. According to Jane, what is the cure for remorse?

   • Seeking pleasure to forget the past
   • Correct answer: Reformation of one's actions
   • Confiding in a trusted friend
   • Repentance through prayer

   When Rochester says repentance is the cure, Jane corrects him: "It is not its cure. Reformation may be its cure." She argues that changing one's behavior, not just feeling sorry, addresses remorse.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Rochester call the mysterious inspiration he welcomes into his heart?

   • A fallen seraph rising from the abyss
   • A Sphynx that speaks in dark riddles
   • A guardian spirit from heaven
   • Correct answer: A bonny wanderer and disguised deity

   Rochester addresses the invisible presence as a "bonny wanderer" and calls it a "disguised deity" and a "pilgrim" that transforms his heart from a "charnel" to a "shrine."

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7. 7

   Question 7. On what ground does Jane finally agree to let Rochester be somewhat commanding?

   • Because he pays her thirty pounds a year to receive his orders
   • Because he is older and has roamed over half the globe
   • Correct answer: Because he forgot the salary and genuinely cares about her comfort
   • Because Mrs. Fairfax advises her to obey the master

   Jane refuses to agree on mercenary grounds (salary) but consents because Rochester forgot about the salary and because he cares "whether or not a dependent is comfortable in his dependency."

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Rochester invites Mrs. Fairfax to the dining room so she can listen to Adele talk about her presents.

     Happened

     Rochester sends for Mrs. Fairfax specifically to serve as "auditress and interlocutrice" for Adele, who is "bursting with repletion" and needs someone to hear about her gifts.

   • Jane reads Rochester's palm to determine his character traits.

     Didn't happen

     Jane reads Rochester's skull (phrenology), not his palm. He lifts his hair to show his forehead, and she observes strong intellectual organs but a deficiency where the sign of benevolence should be.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "physiognomy" mean as used in the sentence: "turning suddenly, he caught my gaze fastened on his physiognomy"?

   • Correct answer: A person's facial features or expression
   • A person's manner of speaking or voice
   • A person's style of dress
   • A person's bodily build, strength, or stature

   Physiognomy refers to a person's facial features or expression, especially as thought to reveal character. Jane is studying Rochester's face when he catches her looking.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "palliate" mean as used in the sentence: "I have plenty of faults of my own: I know it, and I don't wish to palliate them"?

    • To make pale; to drain of colour or life
    • To remove a fault entirely; to cure or correct it
    • Correct answer: To make a fault seem less serious; to mitigate
    • To confess publicly and seek forgiveness

    Palliate means to make something (especially a fault or offense) seem less serious without actually removing it. Rochester is saying he does not wish to minimize or excuse his faults.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "neophyte" mean as used in the sentence: "You have no right to preach to me, you neophyte, that have not passed the porch of life"?

    • A young plant or newly sprouted seedling
    • A religious leader who preaches to others
    • A person of great wisdom and long experience
    • Correct answer: A beginner or novice with little experience

    A neophyte is a beginner or novice. Rochester uses it to dismiss Jane's moral advice, arguing she is too inexperienced to counsel him about life's temptations.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What image does Rochester use to describe Jane's constrained personality?

    • Correct answer: A vivid, restless bird seen through the bars of a cage
    • A mountain river imprisoned behind heavy boulders
    • A candle flame flickering in a dark, shut-up room
    • A flower struggling to blossom between paving stones

    Rochester tells Jane he sees "the glance of a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage: a vivid, restless, resolute captive" that would "soar cloud-high" if freed from Lowood's constraints.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

    • Rochester tells Jane the full story of his relationship with Celine Varens in this chapter.

      Didn't happen

      Rochester only hints at the connection, calling Adele a "miniature of Celine Varens" and saying "I'll explain all this some day." The full story is postponed to a later chapter, creating narrative suspense.

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