Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 38 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When does Mr. Collins deliver his farewell speech to Elizabeth in Chapter 38?

   • During a walk through the garden after breakfast, while Charlotte supervises the packing of the carriage
   • At the front door just before Elizabeth enters the chaise, delivering his remarks as a final send-off
   • At dinner the evening before Elizabeth's departure, with Charlotte and Maria present at the table
   • Correct answer: At breakfast on Saturday morning, arriving a few minutes before the others to speak with her privately

   Mr. Collins meets Elizabeth at breakfast "a few minutes before the others appeared" to pay "the parting civilities which he deemed indispensably necessary," seizing the private moment for his elaborate speech.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How does Mr. Collins describe his home during his farewell to Elizabeth?

   • Correct answer: He calls it a "humble abode" with "small rooms and few domestics" while stressing their connection to Rosings
   • He avoids discussing the house entirely, focusing instead on Charlotte's virtues as a hostess and wife
   • He admits its deficiencies openly and promises to undertake substantial renovations before Elizabeth's next visit
   • He proudly catalogs its recent improvements and boasts that it rivals the comfort of many larger estates nearby

   Mr. Collins describes "our humble abode" with its "plain manner of living, our small rooms and few domestics," but insists their introduction to "very superior society" at Rosings has compensated for any dullness.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Mr. Collins claim about his marriage to Charlotte in his farewell speech?

   • He states that Charlotte has transformed Hunsford into a model parsonage admired throughout the entire county
   • He says they complement each other perfectly, with her practical skills balancing his spiritual duties in the parish
   • Correct answer: He declares they have "but one mind and one way of thinking" and seem "designed for each other"
   • He credits Lady Catherine with recommending the match and says it has exceeded all her wise expectations

   Mr. Collins declares "My dear Charlotte and I have but one mind and one way of thinking. There is in everything a most remarkable resemblance of character and ideas between us. We seem to have been designed for each other."

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4. 4

   Question 4. What are Elizabeth's private thoughts about Charlotte as she prepares to leave Hunsford?

   • She envies Charlotte's comfortable home and wonders whether she herself made a mistake refusing Mr. Collins
   • Correct answer: She thinks "Poor Charlotte!" and finds it melancholy to leave her to such society, yet notes Charlotte chose it knowingly
   • She resolves to write Charlotte weekly letters to ease her friend's loneliness in the isolated Kent parsonage
   • She feels Charlotte has become a fundamentally different person and mourns the loss of their former friendship

   "Poor Charlotte! it was melancholy to leave her to such society! But she had chosen it with her eyes open; and though evidently regretting that her visitors were to go, she did not seem to ask for compassion."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What concerns occupy Charlotte as her guests depart, according to the narrator?

   • She is preoccupied with planning improvements to the garden that Mr. Collins had promised her for spring
   • She is anxious about managing Mr. Collins's moods without Elizabeth as a buffer during daily meals and visits
   • Correct answer: Her home, housekeeping, parish, poultry, and all their dependent concerns "had not yet lost their charms"
   • She worries about the next scheduled dinner at Rosings and whether Lady Catherine noticed Elizabeth's impertinence

   The narrator notes that Charlotte's "home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, and all their dependent concerns, had not yet lost their charms" -- suggesting pragmatic contentment with her chosen life.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What belated reminder does Mr. Collins give as the carriage door is about to close?

   • Correct answer: He suddenly recalls that they have forgotten to leave any message for the ladies at Rosings and assumes their respects
   • He asks Elizabeth to inform Lady Catherine of their safe departure so she need not worry about the travelers
   • He requests that Elizabeth write to confirm her safe arrival in London so he may relay the news to Rosings
   • He reminds Elizabeth to convey his gratitude to Mr. Bennet for originally hosting him at Longbourn in the autumn

   Mr. Collins "suddenly reminded them, with some consternation, that they had hitherto forgotten to leave any message for the ladies at Rosings," then helpfully assumes they wish to send their "humble respects" and "grateful thanks."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Maria Lucas excitedly recount after their departure from Hunsford?

   • She lists all the fine rooms she saw at Rosings and describes Lady Catherine's dresses in elaborate detail
   • Correct answer: She tallies that they dined nine times at Rosings and drank tea there twice, exclaiming how much she will tell
   • She recounts her favorite conversations with Colonel Fitzwilliam and wonders whether he will visit Hertfordshire soon
   • She marvels at the beauty of the Kent countryside and says she hopes to return to Hunsford the following spring

   "We have dined nine times at Rosings, besides drinking tea there twice! How much I shall have to tell!" Maria's innocent social tallying is all she takes away from the visit.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is Elizabeth's private response to Maria's excitement about what she will tell others?

   • She gently corrects Maria, reminding her that some details of their visit are not suitable for public discussion
   • She changes the subject to avoid dwelling on memories of Rosings, preferring to think about the future instead
   • She agrees with Maria and begins composing in her mind the stories she will share with Jane at Longbourn
   • Correct answer: She thinks "And how much I shall have to conceal!" -- reflecting on the secrets she carries from her visit

   "Elizabeth added privately, 'And how much I shall have to conceal!'" -- referring to Darcy's proposal, his revelatory letter, and the truth about Wickham that she cannot freely share.

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9. 9

   Question 9. How long does the journey from Hunsford to the Gardiners' house in London take?

   • Nearly six hours, with the journey delayed by poor road conditions and an unexpected rainstorm in Surrey
   • About three hours, arriving in time for a late luncheon that Mrs. Gardiner had prepared for their welcome
   • Approximately two hours, with a brief stop to change horses at a coaching inn along the main road
   • Correct answer: Within four hours of their leaving Hunsford, they reach Mr. Gardiner's house without incident or alarm

   "Within four hours of their leaving Hunsford they reached Mr. Gardiner's house." The journey is described as performed "without much conversation, or any alarm."

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does Elizabeth observe about Jane when they reunite at the Gardiners' home in London?

    • Jane confides immediately that she has received a letter from Miss Bingley ending their friendship permanently
    • Jane appears thin and pale, confirming Elizabeth's fears that she has been suffering over Bingley's continued absence
    • Correct answer: Jane looked well, but Elizabeth has little opportunity to study her spirits due to Mrs. Gardiner's various engagements
    • Jane seems unusually cheerful and animated, which Elizabeth suspects is a deliberate performance to mask her true feelings

    "Jane looked well, and Elizabeth had little opportunity of studying her spirits, amidst the various engagements which the kindness of her aunt had reserved for them."

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11. 11

    Question 11. What two reasons prevent Elizabeth from telling Jane about Darcy's proposal?

    • Correct answer: She is uncertain how much to communicate, and she fears being drawn into mentioning Bingley and grieving Jane further
    • She worries Jane will share the news with their mother, and she is still angry at Darcy and cannot discuss it calmly
    • She doubts Jane would believe Darcy proposed, and she does not want to reveal how harshly she rejected him
    • She promised Darcy she would keep his proposal confidential, and she fears Jane would insist she accept him

    Elizabeth remains in "the state of indecision in which she remained as to the extent of what she should communicate; and her fear, if she once entered on the subject, of being hurried into repeating something of Bingley which might only grieve her sister further."

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does the chapter reveal about Elizabeth's own vanity regarding Darcy's proposal?

    • She feels no pride at all in having received the proposal and wishes that a man like Darcy had never noticed her in the first place
    • Correct answer: She admits the power to astonish Jane would "highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been able to reason away"
    • She is ashamed of the proposal and hopes no one at Longbourn will ever learn that a man of Darcy's rank and fortune proposed to her
    • She means to tell Jane mainly to prove she has won a richer suitor than Bingley, the man who left Jane without a word

    Elizabeth acknowledges that revealing Darcy's proposal "must, at the same time, so highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been able to reason away" -- showing her honest self-awareness about mixed motives.

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