Jane Eyre, Chapter XV quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What was Celine Varens's profession?

   • Italian opera singer
   • French governess
   • Correct answer: French opera dancer
   • English seamstress

   Rochester describes Celine as "a French opera-dancer" toward whom he had cherished a "grande passion."

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2. 2

   Question 2. How did Rochester discover Celine's infidelity?

   • He found a card from the vicomte lying on her table
   • Correct answer: He watched from her balcony as she arrived with another man
   • Celine confessed the affair to him herself one evening
   • Her chamber-maid told him she had gone out with a vicomte

   Rochester was sitting on Celine's balcony in Paris when he saw her return in his carriage accompanied by a young vicomte.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What happened when Rochester confronted the vicomte?

   • The vicomte fled to Italy with Celine that night
   • Rochester forgave both Celine and the vicomte
   • The vicomte challenged Rochester to a sword fight
   • Correct answer: Rochester shot the vicomte in the arm during a duel

   Rochester made an appointment to meet the vicomte at the Bois de Boulogne and "left a bullet in one of his poor etiolated arms."

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4. 4

   Question 4. What is Rochester's stated reason for bringing Adele to Thornfield?

   • Correct answer: He took pity on the destitute child after her mother abandoned her
   • Mrs. Fairfax wanted a child to keep her company at Thornfield
   • He wanted to raise his own daughter as an English lady
   • Celine begged him to take her child when she left for Italy

   Rochester says he doubts his paternity but "hearing that she was quite destitute, I e'en took the poor thing out of the slime and mud of Paris."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What time does the hall clock strike when Jane hears the mysterious sounds?

   • Three o'clock
   • Midnight
   • One o'clock
   • Correct answer: Two o'clock

   Jane notes: "The clock, far down in the hall, struck two. Just then it seemed my chamber-door was touched."

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Jane extinguish the fire in Rochester's bedroom?

   • She calls servants to bring water
   • Correct answer: She drenches the bed with water from basins and jugs
   • She pulls the burning curtains down and stamps on them
   • She smothers it with a blanket

   Jane uses Rochester's basin and ewer, then fetches her own water jug, drenching the bed and its occupant to extinguish the flames.

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7. 7

   Question 7. To what literary work does Rochester allude when he personifies his destiny as a "hag"?

   • King Lear by Shakespeare
   • Paradise Lost by John Milton
   • Correct answer: Macbeth by Shakespeare
   • The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

   Rochester says his destiny "stood there, by that beech-trunk--a hag like one of those who appeared to Macbeth on the heath of Forres."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Rochester tell Jane to do after investigating the fire?

   • Correct answer: Say nothing about the incident to anyone
   • Leave Thornfield immediately for her own safety
   • Wake Mrs. Fairfax and alert the household
   • Lock her door and go back to sleep

   Rochester says: "you are the only person, besides myself, acquainted with the precise details of to-night's incident. You are no talking fool: say nothing about it."

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9. 9

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

   • Did Rochester immediately wake up when Jane shook him during the fire?

     Didn't happen

     When Jane shook him, "he only murmured and turned: the smoke had stupefied him." She had to douse him with water to finally rouse him.

   • Did Jane call Mrs. Fairfax or any other servants to help deal with the fire?

     Didn't happen

     Jane handled the fire entirely on her own. When she offered to call Mrs. Fairfax afterward, Rochester refused, saying "what the deuce would you call her for? What can she do? Let her sleep unmolested."

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10. 10

    Question 10. In the passage "I heard him fulminating strange anathemas," what does "anathemas" mean?

    • Low, confused murmurs
    • Cries of pain or distress
    • Solemn blessings or benedictions
    • Correct answer: Strong curses or denunciations

    Anathemas are vehement curses or condemnations. Rochester is swearing furiously after waking up drenched in water.

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11. 11

    Question 11. When Jane describes the laugh as "lugubrious," she means it sounded:

    • Musical and melodic
    • Cheerful and bright
    • Correct answer: Sad and dismal
    • Loud and boisterous

    Lugubrious means looking or sounding sad and mournful to an exaggerated degree, describing the eerie quality of the sound Jane heard.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Rochester describes the vicomte's arms as "etiolated." This word means:

    • Muscular and strong
    • Correct answer: Pale and weak
    • Heavily tattooed
    • Scarred from battle

    Etiolated means pale and sickly, as if deprived of light. Rochester uses it contemptuously to emphasize the vicomte's physical feebleness.

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