Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 19 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Mr. Collins request from Mrs. Bennet at the start of Chapter 19?

   • Permission to borrow a horse for an urgent trip to Hunsford
   • Correct answer: The honour of a private audience with Elizabeth during the morning
   • An introduction to a prominent family in the Meryton neighborhood
   • Mrs. Bennet's advice on selecting a suitable gift for Lady Catherine

   Collins formally addresses Mrs. Bennet: "May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?"

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2. 2

   Question 2. How does Mrs. Bennet respond to Mr. Collins's request for a private audience with Elizabeth?

   • She tells Collins he must first speak with Mr. Bennet in the library and secure his blessing
   • She expresses concern that Elizabeth is too young and asks him to wait another year
   • She hesitates and asks Collins to explain his intentions before granting permission
   • Correct answer: She immediately agrees, saying Lizzy will be "very happy" and can have "no objection"

   Mrs. Bennet responds enthusiastically: "Oh dear!-- yes-- certainly. I am sure Lizzy will be very happy-- I am sure she can have no objection. Come, Kitty, I want you upstairs."

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Elizabeth try to do when she realizes Collins intends to propose?

   • She politely asks Collins to sit down and begins listening with quiet composure
   • She sends a servant to fetch her father from his library to intervene
   • Correct answer: She begs her mother not to leave and attempts to escape the room herself
   • She faints from the shock and must be revived with smelling salts and cold water

   Elizabeth calls out "Dear madam, do not go" and says she is "going away myself." But Mrs. Bennet insists she stay, and Elizabeth, "seeming really, with vexed and embarrassed looks, about to escape," is ordered to remain.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What is the FIRST reason Collins gives for wanting to marry?

   • Correct answer: That a clergyman in easy circumstances should set the example of matrimony in his parish
   • That marrying a Bennet daughter will compensate the family for the entailed estate
   • That Lady Catherine de Bourgh has twice advised him, unasked, that he must find a suitable wife
   • That he is convinced marriage will add very greatly to his personal happiness

   Collins states his reasons in order: "first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish." He admits that Lady Catherine's advice "perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What specific instructions did Lady Catherine de Bourgh give Collins about choosing a wife?

   • To find a woman of rank and fortune who would bring credit to the de Bourgh name
   • Correct answer: To choose a gentlewoman who is active, useful, not brought up high, and able to manage economically
   • To select a wife from among the local families near Hunsford who attend his church regularly
   • To marry a woman with musical accomplishments who could entertain guests at Rosings Park

   Lady Catherine told him: "Choose properly, choose a gentlewoman for my sake; and for your own, let her be an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good way."

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why does Collins say he directed his attention to the Bennet daughters rather than women in his own neighborhood?

   • Correct answer: Because marrying a Bennet daughter would soften the family's loss when he inherits Longbourn
   • Because Mr. Bennet had written to him suggesting the match as a way to end the family quarrel
   • Because Lady Catherine specifically recommended the Bennet family as suitable connections
   • Because he found the women near Hunsford lacking in beauty and accomplishments

   Collins explains that since he will inherit Longbourn "after the death of your honoured father," he chose to seek a wife among the Bennet daughters "that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the melancholy event takes place."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Collins say about Elizabeth's financial situation in his proposal?

   • That he expects Mr. Bennet to add to her one thousand pounds as a condition of the marriage
   • That Lady Catherine has offered to supplement Elizabeth's fortune from her own funds
   • That her dowry of five thousand pounds is a generous and welcome contribution
   • Correct answer: That he will be "uniformly silent" about her small portion and never reproach her for it

   Collins says he is "perfectly indifferent" to fortune, knows her portion of "one thousand pounds in the four per cents" is all she will receive, and promises "no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What makes Elizabeth nearly laugh during Collins's proposal speech?

   • His description of the exact dimensions and furnishings of his parsonage at Hunsford
   • His elaborate comparison of her beauty to the flowers in Lady Catherine's garden
   • Correct answer: The idea of Collins, with all his solemn composure, "being run away with by his feelings"
   • His promise that her wit and vivacity would suit Lady Catherine, once tempered with silence and respect

   The narrator notes: "The idea of Mr. Collins, with all his solemn composure, being run away with by his feelings, made Elizabeth so near laughing, that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him."

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9. 9

   Question 9. What is Elizabeth's initial response when she finally interrupts Collins's speech?

   • She tells him plainly that her heart is already given to Mr. Wickham, the officer she met in Meryton
   • She suggests he propose to Jane instead, as her elder sister is more deserving of the honor
   • She asks for time to consider and promises to give her answer by the end of the week
   • Correct answer: She thanks him for the compliment but says it is impossible for her to do otherwise than decline

   Elizabeth says: "Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than to decline them."

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10. 10

    Question 10. Why does Collins say he is "by no means discouraged" by Elizabeth's refusal?

    • Because Mrs. Bennet has privately assured him that Elizabeth will eventually agree
    • Correct answer: Because he believes it is usual for young ladies to reject a man they secretly mean to accept
    • Because Mr. Bennet has given him written consent to pursue the match regardless
    • Because Lady Catherine once told him that a lady's first refusal should never be taken seriously

    Collins says: "I am not now to learn that it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour."

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11. 11

    Question 11. What argument does Elizabeth use involving Lady Catherine to try to discourage Collins?

    • That Lady Catherine would object to Collins marrying someone without a substantial dowry
    • That Lady Catherine has already chosen another bride for Collins from among her own acquaintance
    • Correct answer: That Lady Catherine would find Elizabeth "in every respect ill qualified for the situation"
    • That Lady Catherine's strict expectations would make Elizabeth's life miserable at Hunsford

    Elizabeth tells Collins: "Nay, were your friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation," hoping his reverence for Lady Catherine will make him reconsider.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What tactless observation does Collins make about Elizabeth's marriage prospects?

    • Correct answer: That her small portion makes it "by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made"
    • That her family's lower social standing will prevent her from attracting a man of fortune
    • That her lack of musical talent puts her at a disadvantage among eligible young women
    • That her sharp tongue and wit will frighten away more conventional suitors

    Collins tells Elizabeth: "in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness."

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13. 13

    Question 13. How does Elizabeth describe herself in her final attempt to make Collins understand her refusal?

    • Correct answer: As a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart, not an elegant female intending to plague him
    • As a dutiful daughter who must obey her father's wishes regarding her future husband
    • As a woman who values independence above all and has resolved never to marry anyone
    • As a woman of strong principles who has already given her heart to another man

    Elizabeth says: "Do not consider me now as an elegant female, intending to plague you, but as a rational creature, speaking the truth from her heart."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What is Collins's final response to all of Elizabeth's refusals?

    • He breaks down emotionally and begs her to reconsider, appealing to her sense of compassion
    • Correct answer: He calls her "uniformly charming" and says her parents' authority will make his proposals acceptable
    • He angrily declares that she will regret her refusal on the day that the Longbourn estate passes to him
    • He graciously accepts her refusal and says he will now seek a wife among the Lucas family instead

    Collins responds: "You are uniformly charming! and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable."

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15. 15

    Question 15. What does Elizabeth resolve to do if Collins continues to treat her refusal as encouragement?

    • To ask Mr. Bingley to intervene and speak to Collins as a fellow gentleman
    • To write a formal letter of rejection and have it witnessed by a solicitor
    • To leave Longbourn and stay with her aunt and uncle in London until Collins departs
    • Correct answer: To apply to her father, whose negative could be uttered in a manner that would be decisive

    Elizabeth determines "if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as to be decisive, and whose behavior at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female."

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