That Hideous Strength, Chapter 15: The Descent of the Gods quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which planetary power arrives first in the Blue Room?

   • Perelandra, whom men call Venus
   • Correct answer: Viritrilbia, whom men call Mercury
   • Malacandra, whom men call Mars
   • Lurga, whose earthly name is Saturn

   Viritrilbia, the lord of Meaning, called Mercury and Thoth, comes first: a rod of coloured light no man can name, then the kitchen's unremembered wit.

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2. 2

   Question 2. After Lurga lays his cold antiquity on the house, who comes next?

   • Viritrilbia, the herald nearest the sun
   • Perelandra, bringing unmitigated Charity
   • Malacandra, captain of a cold orb
   • Correct answer: Glund-Oyarsa, known to men as Jove

   Lurga (Saturn) precedes Glund-Oyarsa. The greater spirit arrives after Saturn and almost transforms the other four to his own quality.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why does Ransom stop Merlin from kneeling?

   • Kneeling would break the waiting spell
   • Only Jane is permitted to kneel
   • Correct answer: The visitors are fellow-servants, not gods
   • The Blue Room floor cannot bear the weight

   Merlin starts to kneel and Ransom forbids it, reminding him that the visitants are fellow-servants, not objects of worship.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Who drives Merlin and drops him near Belbury?

   • Dimble, after morning chapel
   • Denniston, on the way to Edgestow
   • Correct answer: MacPhee, later the next day
   • Jane, following a vision

   After Merlin has received the powers and been shaved, MacPhee drives him off and drops him in the neighbourhood of Belbury.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does Frost tell Mark to do in the Objective Room?

   • Sign a written loyalty oath to the Head
   • Correct answer: Trample and insult a large crucifix
   • Fire a revolver at the sleeping tramp
   • Recite the Institute's scientific creed

   Frost has a large Spanish crucifix laid on the floor and instructs Mark to trample on it and insult it as a step toward complete objectivity.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How is the tramp dressed for the tour of Belbury?

   • In a policeman's uniform from Edgestow
   • In Jules's spare evening clothes
   • Correct answer: As a Doctor of Philosophy of Edgestow
   • In Frost's laboratory white coat

   Merlin demands robes; Wither finally dresses the tramp as a Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Edgestow, a crimson robe Mark later sees as a red gown.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What name does Wither give Jules for the tramp?

   • Merlinus Ambrosius, spoken outright
   • Correct answer: Dr. Ambrosius, a distinguished foreigner
   • Father Doyle, a sound colleague
   • Professor Frost's new medium

   Wither, unable to tell Jules the truth, introduces the tramp as Dr. Ambrosius and calls the real Merlin merely his interpreter.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is Mark's decisive reading of the crucifix?

   • It is a charming folk-custom Frost should keep
   • It is an image of the Straight he already loves
   • Correct answer: It shows what the Crooked does to the Straight
   • It proves Frost has become a secret Christian

   Mark does not feel religious reverence. He sees a bit of history: a picture of what the Crooked does when it meets the Straight, and of what Belbury would do to him.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in this chapter?

   • After Glund-Oyarsa comes, the kitchen company dances.

     Happened

   • Merlin kneels to the planetary visitors in the Blue Room.

     Didn't happen

   • Wither and Frost kiss the tramp's hand on their knees.

     Happened

   • Mark tramples the crucifix before the door opens.

     Didn't happen

   • Wither introduces the tramp to Jules as Dr. Ambrosius.

     Happened

   • Lurga is the last of the five powers to arrive.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "translunary" mean as used in "the translunary virtue, fallen upon them direct from the Third Heaven"?

    • Correct answer: Beyond the moon; unearthly and unmitigated
    • Secretly whispered from person to person
    • Softened by ordinary human kindness
    • Restricted to the kitchen downstairs

    Translunary means belonging beyond the moon. Charity here is the Third Heaven's virtue, not the humanised idea of kindness.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "misprision" mean as used in "by fatal but not inexplicable misprision, confused with his Maker"?

    • A legal pardon granted by a king
    • Correct answer: A serious mistake or misreading
    • A feast held in a royal hall
    • A hymn sung by created spirits

    Men called Glund-Oyarsa Jove and, by that misprision, took a created king for the Maker. The word names a grave misunderstanding.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "prodigality" mean as used in "had flowed from them and over them with dazzling prodigality"?

    • Correct answer: Lavish, overflowing abundance
    • Careful, measured understatement
    • Silent, embarrassed pause
    • Bitter, quarrelsome insult

    Under Viritrilbia the kitchen's puns, paradoxes, and metaphors pour out in dazzling plenty that no one can later remember.

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