Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 14 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does Mr. Bennet raise the subject of Lady Catherine de Bourgh at dinner?

   • He wants to impress Mrs. Bennet with the prestige of their guest's connections
   • He genuinely admires Lady Catherine and wishes to learn more about her estate
   • Correct answer: He expects Collins to prove absurd on the subject and wants private entertainment
   • He hopes to discover whether Lady Catherine might offer patronage to his daughters

   Mr. Bennet "started a subject in which he expected him to shine" and his "expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped."

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2. 2

   Question 2. Which of the following is NOT something Lady Catherine has done for Mr. Collins, according to his account?

   • Sent for him to make up her pool of quadrille on a Saturday evening
   • Correct answer: Provided him with a generous annual stipend beyond his clerical income
   • Visited his parsonage and suggested some shelves in the closet upstairs
   • Approved both of the sermons that he had the honour of preaching before her

   Collins mentions her approving his sermons, inviting him for quadrille, and suggesting shelves, but he never mentions an extra stipend beyond his clerical living.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What advice has Lady Catherine given Mr. Collins about marriage?

   • She told him that a clergyman has no business marrying until he reaches forty
   • She advised him to wait until he has saved a sufficient fortune before marrying
   • She recommended that he court her daughter Miss de Bourgh as a suitable match
   • Correct answer: She advised him to marry as soon as he could, provided he chose with discretion

   Lady Catherine "had even condescended to advise him to marry as soon as he could, provided he chose with discretion."

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Mr. Collins describe Miss de Bourgh's health?

   • Correct answer: She suffers from a sickly constitution that has prevented progress in accomplishments
   • She has recently recovered from a serious illness and is expected to improve soon
   • She is robust in body but delicate in temperament and easily overwhelmed by society
   • She is in excellent health and drives her own phaeton and ponies about the lanes daily

   Collins says she is "unfortunately of a sickly constitution, which has prevented her from making that progress in many accomplishments which she could not have otherwise failed of."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What compliment has Collins paid to Lady Catherine about Miss de Bourgh?

   • That Miss de Bourgh drives her phaeton and ponies more gracefully than any lady in Kent
   • Correct answer: That her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and rank would be adorned by her
   • That Miss de Bourgh's learning and wit mark her as the most accomplished woman in Kent
   • That her daughter's musical talents rival those of the finest performers in London

   Collins says he observed "that her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that the most elevated rank, instead of giving her consequence, would be adorned by her."

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Mr. Bennet mean by asking whether Collins's compliments are "the result of previous study"?

   • He is sincerely praising Collins for possessing the talent of flattering with delicacy
   • He is genuinely curious about how Collins composes such elegant compliments for her ladyship
   • Correct answer: He is sarcastically implying that Collins's flattery is so polished it must be rehearsed
   • He is testing whether Collins has read any books on the art of rhetorical persuasion

   Mr. Bennet's question drips with irony. He is mocking Collins, but Collins misses the satire entirely and earnestly admits he does sometimes prepare compliments in advance.

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7. 7

   Question 7. How does Collins respond to Mr. Bennet's question about whether his compliments are spontaneous?

   • Correct answer: He admits they arise from the moment but he does sometimes prepare compliments in advance
   • He blushes and changes the subject, embarrassed at being caught rehearsing his speeches
   • He confesses that he composes all of them at home in his parsonage, long before each visit
   • He insists every word comes from the heart and he would never stoop to prepared remarks

   Collins says "they arise chiefly from what is passing at the time" but admits he "sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments" in advance.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How does Mr. Bennet react while listening to Mr. Collins's monologue about Lady Catherine?

   • He grows visibly bored and signals to Mrs. Bennet that they should change the subject
   • He exchanges loud whispered comments with Jane about the absurdity of Collins's remarks
   • He interrupts frequently to challenge Collins's claims and test his knowledge of her estate
   • Correct answer: He listens with the keenest enjoyment while maintaining the most resolute composure of countenance

   Mr. Bennet listened "with the keenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance, and, except in an occasional glance at Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Why does Mr. Collins refuse to read the first book that is produced?

   • He notices the book is damaged and fears he might be blamed for its poor condition
   • He recognizes the book as one he has already read and finds it dull and repetitive
   • Correct answer: He sees it is from a circulating library and protests that he never reads novels
   • He believes the book contains inappropriate content unsuitable for young ladies to hear

   "On beholding it (for everything announced it to be from a circulating library), he started back, and begging pardon, protested that he never read novels."

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10. 10

    Question 10. What book does Mr. Collins choose to read aloud to the Bennet family?

    • A collection of sermons by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Christian duty and virtue
    • Correct answer: Fordyce's Sermons, a didactic conduct book offering moral instruction to young women
    • A volume of classical poetry featuring Homer's Iliad translated into English prose
    • A history of the English church with particular attention to the role of parish clergy

    "After some deliberation he chose Fordyce's Sermons" — James Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women (1766), a popular but patronizing conduct book.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Who interrupts Mr. Collins's reading, and after how many pages?

    • Mrs. Bennet interrupts after one page to redirect conversation toward Mr. Bingley
    • Elizabeth interrupts after five pages to suggest a more engaging book for the group
    • Kitty interrupts after two pages to complain that the reading is putting her to sleep
    • Correct answer: Lydia interrupts after three pages with gossip about her uncle Phillips and the militia

    "Before he had, with very monotonous solemnity, read three pages, she [Lydia] interrupted him" with gossip about Uncle Phillips turning away Richard and Colonel Forster hiring him.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does Mr. Collins say after being interrupted by Lydia?

    • Correct answer: He lectures that young ladies are little interested by serious books and refuses to continue
    • He asks Mr. Bennet to discipline Lydia and insists she apologize before he will proceed
    • He scolds Lydia for her gossip about Mr. Denny and the officers, and forbids her to go to Meryton
    • He assures her he bears no ill-will and resumes his reading of the sermons at once

    Collins lectures: "I have often observed how little young ladies are interested by books of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit" and says he will "no longer importune my young cousin."

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13. 13

    Question 13. What game does Mr. Collins propose to Mr. Bennet after abandoning the reading?

    • Correct answer: A game of backgammon, offering himself as Mr. Bennet's antagonist at the board
    • A game of quadrille, mimicking the card game he plays at Lady Catherine's Rosings estate
    • A game of whist, suggesting they recruit Mrs. Bennet and Mary to complete the table
    • A game of chess, confident in his superior strategic thinking and intellectual powers

    "Turning to Mr. Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist at backgammon."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What does Mr. Bennet say when accepting Collins's challenge to backgammon?

    • That he expects Collins to play as well as he flatters Lady Catherine, which is expertly
    • That he has been hoping for a worthy opponent ever since Collins arrived at Longbourn
    • Correct answer: That Collins acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements
    • That backgammon is far more intellectually stimulating than reading sermons aloud

    Mr. Bennet "accepted the challenge, observing that he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements" — another dry, ironic remark.

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15. 15

    Question 15. Why has Miss de Bourgh never been presented at the British court?

    • She is too young to be formally presented and must wait until her next birthday
    • Lady Catherine is saving the presentation for after Miss de Bourgh's engagement is announced
    • Lady Catherine considers the court beneath the dignity of the de Bourgh family name
    • Correct answer: Her indifferent state of health prevents her from being in town for the social season

    Collins explains that "her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her being in town; and by that means... has deprived the British court of its brightest ornaments."

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