Jane Eyre, Chapter XXI quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What recurring dream has Jane been having before the events of this chapter?

   • Correct answer: She dreams of an infant in various moods and settings
   • She dreams of Mr. Rochester calling her name in the dark
   • She dreams of Helen Burns dying peacefully at Lowood
   • She dreams of a terrible fire destroying Thornfield Hall

   For seven consecutive nights, Jane dreams of an infant—sometimes hushing it, dandling it on her knee, or watching it play—which Bessie's superstition links to impending trouble.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How did John Reed die?

   • He was killed in a duel over a gambling debt
   • Correct answer: He apparently committed suicide at his London chambers
   • He died in a carriage accident on the way to Gateshead
   • He died of typhus fever in London

   Robert Leaven reports that John Reed died at his chambers in London and that "they say he killed himself" after ruining himself through debt and dissipation.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why has Mrs. Reed sent for Jane?

   • She needs Jane to manage the household finances
   • Eliza and Georgiana requested Jane's help nursing their mother
   • She wants to apologize and include Jane in her will
   • Correct answer: She has been calling Jane's name after suffering a stroke

   After her stroke, Mrs. Reed kept "making signs" and mumbling. Bessie finally understood she was pronouncing Jane's name and saying, "Bring Jane—fetch Jane Eyre: I want to speak to her."

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4. 4

   Question 4. How much money does Jane ultimately accept from Rochester for her journey?

   • Five shillings
   • Fifteen pounds
   • Correct answer: Ten pounds
   • Fifty pounds

   Rochester first offers fifty pounds, but Jane refuses because he only owes her fifteen. They settle on ten pounds, with Rochester keeping the remaining five as an incentive for her to return.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What has Eliza Reed's daily routine come to include?

   • Practising piano, corresponding with London acquaintances, and studying French
   • Reading fashionable novels, chattering to her canary, and awaiting invitations
   • Correct answer: Studying her Prayer Book, stitching an altar cloth, keeping a diary, and gardening
   • Nursing her mother, managing the servants, and hosting local visitors

   Eliza follows a rigid clockwork routine: she studies the Common Prayer Book three times daily, stitches a crimson altar cloth with gold thread, keeps a diary, works in the kitchen garden, and regulates her accounts.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Who wrote the letter Mrs. Reed concealed from Jane?

   • Correct answer: John Eyre of Madeira
   • Mr. Reed's former solicitor
   • A missionary from the Rivers family
   • Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School

   The letter was from John Eyre, Jane's paternal uncle living in Madeira, who wished to adopt Jane and make her his heir.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What lie did Mrs. Reed tell John Eyre about Jane?

   • That Jane had been adopted by another family
   • That Jane was already married and settled
   • That Jane had emigrated to America
   • Correct answer: That Jane had died of typhus fever at Lowood

   Mrs. Reed wrote to John Eyre saying she was sorry for his disappointment but that "Jane Eyre was dead: she had died of typhus fever at Lowood."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Jane unconsciously sketch while staying at Gateshead?

   • A portrait of Mrs. Reed on her deathbed
   • Correct answer: A portrait of Mr. Rochester
   • A scene from Bewick's British Birds
   • A landscape of the Gateshead grounds

   Jane begins drawing without a plan, but produces a detailed portrait with a broad forehead, defined nose, flexible mouth, and firm cleft chin—unmistakably Rochester. She lies to Eliza, calling it "merely a fancy head."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter XXI of Jane Eyre?

   • Jane interrupts Rochester's billiard game with Miss Ingram to ask for leave.

     Happened

   • Rochester accompanies Jane on her journey to Gateshead.

     Didn't happen

   • Bessie's husband Robert Leaven delivers the news about the Reeds to Jane.

     Happened

   • Jane offers Mrs. Reed forgiveness and asks for a kiss.

     Happened

   • Georgiana breaks down weeping at her mother's bedside.

     Didn't happen

   • Mrs. Reed dies during the night after her confession to Jane.

     Happened

   • Jane reads aloud to Mrs. Reed from the Bible before she dies.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these details about the Reed sisters are stated in Chapter XXI?

    • Eliza plans to enter a religious retirement after her mother's death.

      Happened

    • Georgiana, when not lying on the sofa, unburdens her heart to Jane about herself, her loves and her woes.

      Happened

    • Eliza and Georgiana reconcile and plan to live together.

      Didn't happen

    • Georgiana accuses Eliza of ruining her prospects with Lord Edwin Vere.

      Happened

    • Eliza tells Georgiana she will wash her hands of her after their mother's death.

      Happened

    • Both sisters weep together at their mother's corpse.

      Didn't happen

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "presentiments" mean in the sentence: "Presentiments are strange things! and so are sympathies; and so are signs"?

    • Correct answer: Intuitive feelings or forebodings about something that is going to happen
    • Formal accusations presented to a court of law by a grand jury
    • Gifts or tokens offered as a sign of gratitude or honour
    • Formal introductions of a visitor at a social gathering

    "Presentiments" means premonitions or intuitive forewarnings about the future. Jane opens the chapter by reflecting on her belief in such forebodings, which is then validated by the bad news that follows.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "peremptory" mean in the phrase: "she desired me to sit still, quite in her old peremptory tones"?

    • Gentle, soothing, and quietly reassuring in manner
    • Correct answer: Insisting on immediate obedience in a commanding way
    • Hesitant and uncertain, as though requesting permission
    • Performed hastily and carelessly, as a routine duty

    "Peremptory" means insisting on immediate attention or obedience in a brusquely imperious manner. Bessie uses the same commanding tone with the adult Jane that she used when Jane was a child in her care.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "inexorable" mean in the phrase: "her brow and strong traits wore yet the impress of her inexorable soul"?

    • Easily moved to pity; generous and forgiving
    • Deeply sorrowful and regretful; full of remorse
    • Correct answer: Impossible to persuade or move to pity; unyielding
    • Incapable of being explained or understood

    "Inexorable" means impossible to stop, prevent, or persuade. Even in death, Mrs. Reed's face bears the stamp of her unyielding, unforgiving nature.

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