Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 58 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does Elizabeth initially address Darcy during their walk?

   • Correct answer: To thank him for his kindness to Lydia
   • To tell him about Lady Catherine's visit
   • To ask about Bingley's intentions toward Jane
   • To propose marriage to him

   Elizabeth breaks the silence to thank Darcy for his secret role in arranging Lydia and Wickham's marriage, calling it his "unexampled kindness."

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2. 2

   Question 2. When Darcy asks Elizabeth to thank him, for whom does he say she should do so?

   • For Lydia specifically
   • Correct answer: For herself alone
   • For Mrs. Gardiner
   • For her entire family

   Darcy says, "If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone," revealing that his actions were motivated primarily by his love for Elizabeth.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What did Lady Catherine's report to Darcy accidentally communicate?

   • That Elizabeth had openly confessed her love for Darcy
   • That Elizabeth was already engaged to another gentleman
   • Correct answer: That Elizabeth had not definitively refused to accept Darcy
   • That the whole Bennet family strongly disapproved of the match

   Because Elizabeth refused to promise Lady Catherine that she would reject Darcy, he concluded she might be open to his proposal — the opposite of what Lady Catherine intended.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Did Elizabeth quote the exact words of her acceptance to Darcy in this chapter?

     Didn't happen

     Austen does not provide Elizabeth's direct words. Instead, the narrator summarizes that she "gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone so material a change" — an example of free indirect discourse.

   • Did Darcy admit that his first proposal was delivered in an unpardonable manner?

     Happened

     Darcy says his behavior at the time of his first proposal "had merited the severest reproof" and that he "cannot think of it without abhorrence."

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5. 5

   Question 5. Which phrase from Elizabeth's first rejection does Darcy say has "tortured" him?

   • "I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man"
   • "Your arrogance and conceit make you unworthy"
   • "You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry"
   • Correct answer: "Had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner"

   Darcy quotes Elizabeth's exact words and says, "You know not, you can scarcely conceive, how they have tortured me."

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6. 6

   Question 6. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Did Darcy blame his parents for deliberately teaching him to be arrogant?

     Didn't happen

     Darcy says his parents were good people ("my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable") but that they allowed and encouraged his selfishness by spoiling him as an only son — a more nuanced assessment than deliberate blame.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Elizabeth advise about dealing with the past?

   • That the past must be strictly examined before it is forgiven
   • That painful recollections ought not to be repelled
   • That each should accept the greater share of blame
   • Correct answer: To think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure

   Elizabeth proposes this philosophy, but Darcy rejects it, saying his painful recollections "cannot, which ought not, to be repelled."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does "contrariwise" mean in the sentence: "its effect had been exactly contrariwise"?

   • In a predictable way
   • Correct answer: In the opposite way
   • Partly, not completely
   • In a wise or clever way

   "Contrariwise" means in the opposite direction or manner. Lady Catherine's interference produced the exact opposite of what she intended.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "diffidence" mean in: "His diffidence had prevented his depending on his own judgment"?

   • Correct answer: Modesty or lack of self-confidence
   • Difference of opinion or disagreement
   • Arrogance or excessive self-confidence
   • Indifference or lack of interest

   "Diffidence" refers to Bingley's modest, shy nature that made him unable to trust his own judgment about Jane's feelings.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What two things does Darcy confess to Bingley before returning to Longbourn?

    • His role in Lydia's marriage and his plan to propose again
    • His love for Elizabeth and his long-standing dislike of Wickham
    • Correct answer: His interference in Bingley's courtship and concealing Jane's presence in London
    • His aunt's visit to Longbourn and Elizabeth's changed feelings

    Darcy tells Bingley that his interference was "absurd and impertinent" and admits he knew Jane had been in London for three months the previous winter but deliberately kept this from Bingley.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

    • Did Elizabeth tease Darcy about how easily he directed Bingley?

      Didn't happen

      Elizabeth "longed to observe that Mr. Bingley had been a most delightful friend; so easily guided that his worth was invaluable" but "checked herself," remembering that Darcy "had yet to learn to be laughed at."

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12. 12

    Question 12. What literary device is exemplified by Lady Catherine's meddling producing the opposite of her intended result?

    • Unreliable narrator
    • Personification
    • Foreshadowing
    • Correct answer: Situational irony

    Lady Catherine's attempt to prevent the match brings it about: But, unluckily for her ladyship, its effect had been exactly contrariwise. An action that produces the opposite of what was intended is situational irony; dramatic irony is when the reader knows something a character does not.

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