Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 47 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What is Mr. Gardiner's initial opinion about Wickham's intentions toward Lydia?

   • He considers it certain that they have gone on to Scotland and are already married at Gretna Green
   • He believes Lydia is principally to blame, since she was allowed to run wild among the officers at Meryton
   • He is certain Wickham never intended to marry her, exactly as Denny had suggested to Colonel Forster in Brighton
   • Correct answer: He believes Wickham likely intends marriage, since the risk of disgrace would be too great otherwise

   Mr. Gardiner argues it is "very unlikely that any young man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless," noting the risk to Wickham's standing in the regiment.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does Elizabeth believe Wickham will NOT marry Lydia?

   • Because Mr. Bennet would never consent to the match, and Wickham understands the father's decision is final
   • Because Wickham still means to marry Miss King, whose fortune he courted while the regiment was at Meryton
   • Correct answer: Because Wickham cannot afford to marry without money, and Lydia has no fortune or family to compel him
   • Because Colonel Forster has told Elizabeth that Wickham is already engaged to a young lady in Brighton

   Elizabeth argues that "Wickham will never marry a woman without some money. He cannot afford it." She adds that Lydia has no brothers to defend her and their father is too indolent to act.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What evidence suggests that Lydia and Wickham did NOT travel to Scotland?

   • Colonel Forster was informed at the inns in Barnet and Hatfield that the couple had inquired the way to London
   • Correct answer: They transferred from a chaise to a hackney coach, and no trace was found on the Barnet road to Scotland
   • Lydia's note to Mrs. Forster said plainly that they were travelling to London and not to Gretna Green at all
   • Kitty confessed that Lydia's last letter had described the very house in London where the two would stay

   Elizabeth notes that "their removing from the chaise into a hackney coach is such a presumption!" and that "no traces of them were to be found on the Barnet road," the route to Scotland.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does the narrator call "the keenest of all anguish" during the journey home?

   • Correct answer: Self-reproach, for keeping silent about Wickham's character when she knew the truth
   • Grief, at the certainty that Mr. Darcy's regard for her must now be lost forever
   • Shame, at the thought that every servant at Longbourn already knew the whole story
   • Fear, that her father would discover Wickham in London and be killed in a duel with him

   "Fixed there by the keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could find no interval of ease or forgetfulness." Elizabeth blames herself and Jane for not revealing Wickham's true nature.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Where and from whom did Elizabeth first learn the truth about Wickham?

   • In Brighton, from Colonel Forster's confidential report on Wickham's military record
   • At Longbourn, from her father's investigation into Wickham's debts in Meryton
   • Correct answer: In Kent, from her interactions with Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam
   • At Netherfield, when Miss Bingley shared a letter from Darcy about Wickham's past

   Elizabeth tells Mrs. Gardiner: "Till I was in Kent, and saw so much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel Fitzwilliam, I was ignorant of the truth myself."

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Elizabeth characterize Wickham when Mrs. Gardiner presses her?

   • As a careless young man who is imprudent and extravagant, but who intends no real harm to anybody
   • Correct answer: As someone who has neither integrity nor honour and is as false and deceitful as he is insinuating
   • As a man who would never neglect his own interest, and so must surely mean to marry Lydia after all
   • As a gentleman who has been unjustly used by Mr. Darcy and deserves the family's sympathy in his trouble

   Elizabeth declares: "We both know that he has been profligate in every sense of the word; that he has neither integrity nor honour; that he is as false and deceitful as he is insinuating."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What is Mrs. Bennet's reaction when the travelers arrive at Longbourn?

   • She has already recovered her spirits and is planning Lydia's wedding celebrations in detail
   • She refuses to see anyone, keeping to her dressing-room, and sends word that she is too shocked to speak
   • She greets them calmly, insisting that the family keep the matter from the servants and all the neighbours
   • Correct answer: She meets them with tears, invectives against Wickham, and complaints of her own suffering, blaming everyone but herself

   Mrs. Bennet receives them "with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings and ill-usage; blaming everybody but the person to whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her daughter must principally be owing."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Mrs. Bennet fear will happen if Mr. Bennet encounters Wickham?

   • Correct answer: That Mr. Bennet will fight Wickham and be killed, leaving the family to be turned out by the Collinses
   • That Mr. Bennet will bring Lydia home unmarried, so that the whole neighbourhood will laugh at the family
   • That Mr. Bennet will pay Wickham's debts out of the money that had been set aside for his other daughters
   • That Mr. Bennet will be too indolent to act, and will abandon Lydia to her fate somewhere in London

   Mrs. Bennet cries: "Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight Wickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and what is to become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave."

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9. 9

   Question 9. What moral reflection does Mary offer about Lydia's situation?

   • That the family should forgive Lydia immediately because Christian charity demands compassion above all else
   • Correct answer: That loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable and one false step involves her in endless ruin
   • That the fault lies entirely with Wickham and Lydia should be welcomed home without any blame
   • That the family should move away from Meryton to escape the judgment of their small-minded neighbors

   Mary whispers: "loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful." Elizabeth lifts her eyes in amazement but is too oppressed to reply.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does Lydia's farewell letter to Mrs. Forster reveal about her state of mind?

    • She is calculating and strategic, outlining a plan to force Wickham into marriage through public pressure
    • She is anxious and ashamed, begging Mrs. Forster to keep the elopement a secret from her family at Longbourn
    • Correct answer: She is lighthearted and giddy, calling the elopement "a good joke" and saying she can hardly write for laughing
    • She is remorseful and asks that her family forgive her for the pain she is causing them

    Lydia writes gaily that she is "going to Gretna Green," calls it "a good joke," says she "can hardly write for laughing," and signs the letter "Lydia Wickham." Elizabeth calls her "thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia."

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11. 11

    Question 11. What did Denny say about Wickham's plans when questioned by Colonel Forster?

    • He revealed that Wickham had debts totaling several hundred pounds across Meryton and Brighton
    • He said Wickham had already written to his family announcing the engagement was official
    • He confirmed that Wickham had confided his plan to elope and marry Lydia in Scotland
    • Correct answer: He denied knowing their plans but was earlier persuaded Wickham never intended to marry Lydia

    Jane reports that "Denny denied knowing anything of their plans, and would not give his real opinion about it. He did not repeat his persuasion of their not marrying," though he had previously suggested Wickham did not intend marriage.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What is Mr. Bennet's plan for tracking down Lydia and Wickham in London?

    • Correct answer: He plans to trace the hackney coach from Clapham by questioning postilions at Epsom and finding the coach's number
    • He plans to visit every church in London where banns might have been published for the couple
    • He plans to post a public notice in the London papers offering a reward for information about Wickham
    • He plans to go directly to Mr. Gardiner's house in Gracechurch Street and wait there for intelligence of them

    Jane explains that Mr. Bennet meant "to go to Epsom, the place where they last changed horses, see the postilions," and discover the number of the hackney coach from Clapham to trace where Wickham had been staying.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Why did the family allow Mrs. Bennet to remain secluded in her dressing room?

    • Because Mr. Gardiner thought her complaints against the Forsters would only upset Mary and Kitty further
    • Because she was too ill to come downstairs, suffering from spasms in her side and pains in her head
    • Correct answer: Because she lacked the prudence to hold her tongue before the servants, and they wanted to limit gossip
    • Because she refused to leave her apartment until her brother had promised to discover Lydia and make them marry

    The narrator explains "they knew that she had not prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants, while they waited at table, and judged it better that one only of the household... should comprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What had Kitty known about Lydia and Wickham before the elopement?

    • She had known of their attachment for months, long before the regiment departed from Meryton for Brighton
    • Correct answer: She knew from Lydia's recent letters that the two had been in love with each other for many weeks
    • She had heard from Denny that Wickham never intended to marry Lydia, but was afraid to tell anybody
    • She knew nothing whatever and was as astonished as the rest of the family when the express arrived

    "Kitty then owned, with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the rest of us, that in Lydia's last letter she had prepared her for such a step. She had known, it seems, of their being in love with each other, many weeks."

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15. 15

    Question 15. How does Elizabeth respond to Lady Lucas's visit to condole with the family?

    • Correct answer: She says Lady Lucas had better have stayed at home, since assistance is impossible and condolence is insufferable
    • She invites Lady Lucas to stay for tea and shares the full details of the elopement with her
    • She refuses to see Lady Lucas and sends Jane to receive her with a polite but firm dismissal
    • She says Lady Lucas was very kind to walk over, and that the help of her daughters should be gladly accepted

    Elizabeth says: "She had better have stayed at home. Assistance is impossible; condolence insufferable. Let them triumph over us at a distance, and be satisfied."

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