Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 54 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does Elizabeth walk out at the beginning of Chapter 54?

   • To follow Bingley and Darcy on their way home
   • To avoid her mother's excited conversation
   • To write privately to her aunt Gardiner
   • Correct answer: To recover her spirits after Darcy's visit

   The narrator notes with ironic humor that Elizabeth walks out "to recover her spirits; or in other words, to dwell without interruption on those subjects that must deaden them more."

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Jane claim about her feelings regarding Bingley's return?

   • She confesses she is still in danger of becoming attached to him again
   • She expects to be embarrassed whenever he visits Longbourn
   • Correct answer: She feels perfectly easy and will not be embarrassed by his coming
   • She regrets that he ever returned to Netherfield

   Jane tells Elizabeth, "Now that this first meeting is over, I feel perfectly easy. I know my own strength, and I shall never be embarrassed again by his coming."

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3. 3

   Question 3. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • True or False: Bingley immediately sat next to Jane without any hesitation at the dinner party.

     Didn't happen

     On entering the dining room, Bingley "seemed to hesitate," but when Jane looked around and smiled, "it was decided. He placed himself by her."

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4. 4

   Question 4. Where is Darcy seated during the Longbourn dinner?

   • Beside Jane, in Bingley's former place
   • Correct answer: On one side of Mrs. Bennet, far from Elizabeth
   • Beside Bingley, across the table from Jane
   • Next to Elizabeth, as she had hoped he would

   Darcy "was almost as far from her as the table could divide them. He was on one side of her mother."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What expression does Elizabeth observe on Bingley's face when he looks toward Darcy after sitting beside Jane?

   • Correct answer: Half-laughing alarm
   • Triumphant satisfaction
   • Cold indifference
   • Stern disapproval

   Elizabeth sees Bingley's eyes "turned towards Mr. Darcy, with an expression of half-laughing alarm," suggesting Bingley is checking for Darcy's approval.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does the word "rapacity" mean as used in "her mother's rapacity for whist players"?

   • Swiftness or rapidity of movement
   • Correct answer: Aggressive greed or grasping eagerness
   • Generous kindness toward one's guests
   • Courteous persuasion or polite invitation

   Rapacity means aggressive greed. Austen uses it humorously to describe Mrs. Bennet's eagerness to recruit players for her card game.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • True or False: Elizabeth and Darcy have a long, meaningful conversation during the evening.

     Didn't happen

     Their only exchange is a brief, stilted conversation about Georgiana being at Pemberley. Darcy then stands in silence before walking away.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What prevents Darcy from sitting near Elizabeth in the drawing room after dinner?

   • Elizabeth makes it obvious that his company is unwelcome
   • He chooses to keep well away from her and stays at the other end of the room
   • Correct answer: The ladies have crowded around the tea table leaving no vacancy near her
   • He is kept busy in conversation with Bingley and Jane

   The ladies crowd "round the table, where Miss Bennet was making tea, and Elizabeth pouring out the coffee, in so close a confederacy that there was not a single vacancy near her."

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9. 9

   Question 9. What ultimatum does Elizabeth set for herself regarding Darcy?

   • Correct answer: If he does not come to her, she will give him up forever
   • If he does not speak to Jane, she will confront him
   • If he leaves early, she will write him a letter
   • If he does not dance with her, she will refuse him forever

   Elizabeth resolves: "If he does not come to me, then, I shall give him up for ever."

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "confederacy" mean as used in "so close a confederacy that there was not a single vacancy"?

    • A formal plan of where guests are seated
    • A bitter quarrel between two rival groups
    • A league of independent states under one government
    • Correct answer: A tightly packed group united in common purpose

    Austen uses "confederacy" humorously to describe the cluster of women around the tea table as if they were conspiratorially united in keeping the men at bay.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What activity keeps Darcy separated from Elizabeth for the rest of the evening?

    • Dancing
    • Correct answer: Playing whist at a card table
    • Conversation with Mr. Bennet in the library
    • Walking in the garden

    Mrs. Bennet recruits Darcy as a whist player, and he is "in a few moments after seated with the rest of the party" at a separate card table.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

    • True or False: Mrs. Bennet is disappointed with how the dinner party went.

      Didn't happen

      Mrs. Bennet "was in very great spirits" after the dinner, boasting about the food, Jane's beauty, and predicting Bingley's imminent proposal.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does the closing exchange between Elizabeth and Jane—"How hard it is in some cases to be believed!" / "And how impossible in others!"—reveal?

    • They disagree about whether Darcy's character has really improved
    • Jane is teasing Elizabeth about her own secret feelings for Darcy
    • Both sisters are annoyed by their mother's boasting about the dinner
    • Correct answer: Jane's denial of feelings is unconvincing, and Elizabeth recognizes the irony

    Jane means she cannot be believed when she insists on indifference; Elizabeth's reply implies it is indeed impossible to believe such a transparent claim, highlighting Jane's self-deception.

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