Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 35 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Where and how does Elizabeth receive Darcy's letter in Chapter 35?

   • Correct answer: Darcy intercepts her during a walk near the park, hands her the letter without explanation, and departs
   • Colonel Fitzwilliam brings the letter during an afternoon visit and asks Elizabeth to read it privately
   • Elizabeth finds the letter left on a bench in Lady Catherine's garden with no indication of its author
   • A servant delivers it to the Parsonage while Elizabeth is at breakfast with Charlotte and Mr. Collins

   Darcy approaches Elizabeth in a lane near the park, having been "walking in the grove some time in the hope of meeting you." He holds out the letter, says only that he hopes she will do him the honour of reading it, bows, and walks away.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What time and place does Darcy date his letter from?

   • From Hunsford Parsonage at six o'clock in the morning, written before anyone else in the house had risen
   • Correct answer: From Rosings, at eight o'clock in the morning, the morning after she refused his proposal at the Hunsford Parsonage
   • From an inn on the London road at noon, written during his journey away from Kent after the rejection
   • From the grove near the park at dawn, written outdoors while he waited for Elizabeth to appear on her walk

   The letter was dated from Rosings, at eight o'clock in the morning, the morning after his rejected proposal the previous evening.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does Darcy open his letter to Elizabeth?

   • He states that he is writing on the advice of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who urged him to explain his actions in full
   • He begins with an apology for his ungentlemanly behavior during the proposal and begs her forgiveness sincerely
   • Correct answer: He assures her the letter contains no repetition of his sentiments or renewal of offers, but demands her attention for justice
   • He declares his love remains unchanged despite her refusal and asks her to reconsider his proposal at her leisure

   "Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to you." He demands her attention as a matter of justice.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What two accusations does Darcy identify as the charges Elizabeth laid against him?

   • That he was too proud to associate with the Bennet family and that he spread malicious rumors about Elizabeth in London
   • That he manipulated Colonel Fitzwilliam against Wickham and that he deliberately humiliated the Bennet family at Netherfield
   • That he insulted Elizabeth at the Meryton ball and that he conspired with Lady Catherine to control his marriage prospects
   • Correct answer: That he detached Bingley from Jane and that he ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the prospects of Wickham

   Darcy identifies "two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude": separating Bingley from Jane, and having "ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the prospects of Mr. Wickham."

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5. 5

   Question 5. When did Darcy first begin to suspect that Bingley's attachment to Jane was serious?

   • At the first assembly in Meryton, when Bingley danced with Jane twice and called her the most beautiful creature he ever beheld
   • During Bingley's first morning call at Longbourn, when Bingley spoke of Jane with unusual warmth and admiration
   • Correct answer: At the evening of the dance at Netherfield, after Sir William Lucas mentioned a general expectation of their marriage
   • After Jane fell ill and stayed at Netherfield for several days, when he observed Bingley's constant attention to her

   "It was not till the evening of the dance at Netherfield that I had any apprehension of his feeling a serious attachment." Sir William Lucas's "accidental information" about the general expectation of marriage first alerted Darcy.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What was Darcy's conclusion about Jane's feelings after observing her at the Netherfield ball?

   • Correct answer: He believed Jane received Bingley's attentions with pleasure but did not invite them by any participation of sentiment
   • He thought Jane was merely flattered by Bingley's wealth and encouraged the match for financial security for her family
   • He decided Jane's feelings were unclear but that Charlotte Lucas seemed a more suitable match for Bingley overall
   • He concluded that Jane was deeply and obviously in love with Bingley, which alarmed him due to her family connections

   Darcy watched Jane and concluded that "though she received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by any participation of sentiment." He found her countenance serene but without "any symptom of peculiar regard."

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7. 7

   Question 7. Which members of the Bennet family does Darcy criticize for a "total want of propriety"?

   • Only Mrs. Bennet and Lydia, whom he singles out as the primary sources of embarrassment for the entire family
   • Mr. and Mrs. Bennet together, blaming them as parents for failing to properly educate and restrain their daughters
   • All five Bennet sisters equally, including Elizabeth and Jane, for their forwardness and lack of social refinement
   • Correct answer: Mrs. Bennet, the three younger sisters, and occasionally Mr. Bennet -- while explicitly exempting Elizabeth and Jane

   Darcy cites "that total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself [Mrs. Bennet], by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father," while praising Elizabeth and Jane for avoiding "any share of the like censure."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is the one part of the Bingley-Jane affair that Darcy does not reflect on with satisfaction?

   • Convincing Bingley that Jane did not return his affection, which Darcy now suspects may have been incorrect
   • Correct answer: Concealing from Bingley that Jane was in London, a form of disguise he acknowledges was perhaps beneath him
   • Enlisting Bingley's sisters as allies in the effort to detach their brother from Jane and the Bennet family
   • Speaking disparagingly about the Bennet family's social standing in conversations with Bingley at their London residence

   "There is but one part of my conduct in the whole affair on which I do not reflect with satisfaction; it is, that I condescended to adopt the measures of art so far as to conceal from him your sister's being in town." He calls it a "disguise" that was "perhaps...beneath me."

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9. 9

   Question 9. What financial arrangement did Wickham make with Darcy after declining the church living?

   • Wickham demanded ten thousand pounds and, after negotiation, settled for the original one-thousand-pound legacy from the will
   • Wickham accepted a position managing a distant Pemberley estate in exchange for an annual salary and housing provided
   • Wickham asked for and received five thousand pounds to establish himself as a barrister in London's legal community
   • Correct answer: Wickham resigned all claim to the living and accepted three thousand pounds in addition to the one-thousand-pound legacy

   Wickham "resigned all claim to assistance in the church, were it possible that he could ever be in a situation to receive it, and accepted in return three thousand pounds." This was on top of the one-thousand-pound legacy from the elder Mr. Darcy's will.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What did Wickham do with his time after receiving the money from Darcy?

    • Correct answer: His studying the law was "a mere pretence," and free from restraint, his life became one of idleness and dissipation
    • He traveled extensively across Europe, spending his fortune on art collections and fashionable society in Paris and Rome
    • He invested the money in a failed business venture and then applied to Darcy for additional financial assistance twice
    • He studied law diligently for two years before abandoning it to pursue a military career in the regiment at Meryton

    Darcy says Wickham's "studying the law was a mere pretence, and being now free from all restraint, his life was a life of idleness and dissipation." About three years later, Wickham tried to reclaim the church living.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Who was Mrs. Younge, and what role did she play in Wickham's scheme?

    • She was Lady Catherine's companion who secretly corresponded with Wickham and provided information about the Darcy fortune
    • She was Georgiana's old governess at Pemberley, who innocently allowed Wickham to call on her pupil after a chance meeting at Ramsgate
    • Correct answer: She was the lady presiding over Georgiana's London establishment who had a prior acquaintance with Wickham and aided his plan
    • She was the mistress of the school Georgiana had just left, who discovered Wickham's plan and warned Darcy just in time

    Mrs. Younge "presided over" Georgiana's establishment in London. She had "a prior acquaintance" with Wickham, and "by her connivance and aid, he so far recommended himself to Georgiana" that the girl consented to an elopement.

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12. 12

    Question 12. How old was Georgiana Darcy at the time of Wickham's attempted elopement, and what was her fortune?

    • She was seventeen years old with a fortune of twenty thousand pounds inherited from her maternal grandmother
    • Correct answer: She was fifteen years old with a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, which Darcy says was Wickham's primary motive
    • She was sixteen years old with a fortune of fifty thousand pounds held in trust until her twenty-first birthday
    • She was eighteen years old with a fortune of fifteen thousand pounds that would double upon her marriage with consent

    "She was then but fifteen, which must be her excuse." Her fortune was "thirty thousand pounds," and Darcy says "Mr. Wickham's chief object was unquestionably my sister's fortune" along with revenge against Darcy.

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13. 13

    Question 13. How was Wickham's planned elopement with Georgiana ultimately prevented?

    • Mrs. Younge had a change of conscience and wrote to Darcy in London, revealing Wickham's true financial motivations in detail
    • A local clergyman at Ramsgate recognized Wickham from Cambridge and warned Georgiana about his disreputable past and debts
    • Colonel Fitzwilliam intercepted a letter between Wickham and Mrs. Younge and alerted Darcy before the elopement could happen
    • Correct answer: Darcy arrived at Ramsgate unexpectedly, and Georgiana, unable to bear grieving her brother, confessed the plan to him

    "I joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the intended elopement, and then Georgiana, unable to support the idea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost looked up to as a father, acknowledged the whole to me."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What two motives does Darcy attribute to Wickham for pursuing the elopement with Georgiana?

    • Pressure from Mrs. Younge to secure a wealthy match combined with Wickham's longstanding resentment of the Darcy family name
    • Genuine affection for Georgiana combined with a desperate need to escape his mounting debts across several counties
    • Correct answer: Georgiana's thirty-thousand-pound fortune and the hope of revenging himself on Darcy, which would have been "complete indeed"
    • A desire to gain entry into the highest circles of society and to embarrass Lady Catherine de Bourgh publicly

    "Mr. Wickham's chief object was unquestionably my sister's fortune, which is thirty thousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement. His revenge would have been complete indeed."

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15. 15

    Question 15. Who does Darcy direct Elizabeth to consult as a witness to verify the claims in his letter?

    • Mr. Bingley, who can confirm the details about Wickham's financial dealings and the separation from Jane Bennet
    • Correct answer: Colonel Fitzwilliam, his cousin and co-executor of his father's will, who knows every particular of these transactions
    • Miss Darcy herself, who confessed the whole Ramsgate affair to him and can confirm every particular of his account of Wickham
    • Mrs. Reynolds, the Pemberley housekeeper, who witnessed Wickham's upbringing and can attest to his true character

    Darcy appeals "to the testimony of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, from our near relationship and constant intimacy, and, still more, as one of the executors of my father's will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of these transactions."

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