At Fault MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 9, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

At Fault MCQs

1. Who was the previous owner of Place-du-Bois?

A. David Hosmer
B. Uncle Hiram
C. Jérôme Lafirme
D. Grégoire Santien

C. Jérôme Lafirme.
Jérôme Lafirme was the deceased husband of Thérèse, who inherited the large four-thousand-acre plantation.

2. How many acres was the Lafirme plantation?

A. One thousand
B. Four thousand
C. Nine hundred
D. Three hundred

B. Four thousand.
The plantation, known as Place-du-Bois, was described as covering four thousand acres when Thérèse inherited it.

3. What visible offence roused Thérèse from her grief?

A. Cotton being hauled
B. Disorder gathering
C. Hands demoralised
D. Neglect of the fields

A. Cotton is being hauled.
Uncle Hiram informed Thérèse that people had started hauling cottonseed off the plantation illegally.

4. What structure was rebuilt far from the river?

A. The cotton gin
B. The storehouse
C. The homestead
D. The mill office

C. The homestead.
The original homestead was abandoned due to railroad inroads, and Mrs Lafirme rebuilt many rods away.
5. What structure became a section house near the river?

A. The mill office
B. The Lafirme store
C. The old homestead
D. The negro quarters

C. The old homestead.
The former dwelling, mutilated by progressive civilisation, was converted into a section house near the water.

6. What was David Hosmer’s city of origin?

A. Centerville, Texas
B. Natchitoches
C. Saint Louis
D. New Orleans

C. Saint Louis.
Hosmer introduced himself specifically as being from Saint Louis when clarifying his vague Western origin.

7. What business opportunity did Hosmer first propose?

A. Raising cotton
B. Opening a store
C. Selling the land
D. Cutting timber

D. Cutting timber.
Hosmer offered a moneyed proposal for the privilege of cutting timber from Thérèse’s land.

8. What type of wood product quickly gained recognition at the mill?

A. Oak barrels
B. Cypress Funerall
C. Pine boards
D. Cotton-wood logs

B. Cypress Funeral.
The term “Cypresse Funerall,” referring to dense Louisiana forest timber, had won recognition within a year.

9. What reason did Thérèse give for visiting Hosmer at the mill?

A. To check orders
B. To discuss Melicent
C. To keep his promise
D. To view the timber

C. To keep his promise.
Thérèse asked, “Is this the way you keep a promise?” referring to his vow to do no work after five o’clock.
10. What did Thérèse see pictured in Hosmer’s desk?

A. Hosmer’s dead son
B. Melicent’s portrait
C. A Louisiana swamp
D. Her own profile

A. Hosmer’s dead son.
Thérèse saw the picture of a handsome boy; Hosmer confirmed, “He’s dead”.

11. What was the unruly mill hand’s name?

A. Henry
B. Grégoire
C. Joçint
D. Nathan

C. Joçint.
Hosmer mentioned that Joçint was “Always unruly” and the foreman believed they could not keep him.

12. Where was Melicent going in the pirogue with Grégoire?

A. Lac du Bois
B. Natchitoches
C. Cane River
D. Saint Louis

A. Lac du Bois.
Hosmer mentioned Melicent was out on the lake (Lac du Bois) with Grégoire in the pirogue.

13. What feature of Grégoire’s was criticised by Melicent?

A. His sharp features
B. His dark eyes
C. His soft voice
D. His brawny build

C. His soft voice.
Melicent could not reconcile his voice to her liking; it was too softly low and feminine.

14. What common Southern custom did Grégoire dislike doing himself?

A. Using a rifle
B. Riding a horse
C. Any undue toil
D. Going to the mill

C. Any undue toil.
Grégoire followed the axiom to do nothing that an available “nigger” might do for him.
15. Whom did local folklore say old McFarlane killed?

A. His wife
B. The Lafirmes
C. The negroes
D. His enemy

C. The negroes.
Folks said McFarlane walks because he “can’t rest in his grave for the niggas he’s killed”.

16. Where did Grégoire live before Aunt Thérèse sent for him?

A. In New Orleans
B. In Texas
C. In France
D. At Les Chênières

B. In Texas.
Grégoire admitted he was in Texas, going to the devil, I reckon, when she sent for me.

17. What caused the initial delay in Melicent hiring a cook?

A. Cynthy got sick
B. Suze was busy
C. Minervy was lazy
D. Thérèse refused

A. Cynthy got sick.
Betsy’s Aunt Cynthy failed to appear because she had been “tuck sick in de night”.

18. What peculiar reason did Nathan give for negroes avoiding Melicent?

A. She paid poorly
B. She cut off plaits
C. She was Northern
D. She was too strict

B. She cut off plaits.
Nathan said, “Dey ‘low you wants to cut de little gals’ plaits off,” which frightened the workers.

19. What was the deeper motive for servants shunning the Hosmers?

A. Too demanding work
B. Prejudice against Northerners
C. Low wages offered
D. Melicent’s flirting

B. Prejudice against Northerners.
Thérèse explained negroes were averse to working for Northern people whose speech and manners were unfamiliar.
20. What made Thérèse’s walk with Hosmer necessary in his view?

A. His sister’s presence
B. Daily society of Thérèse
C. His horse’s management
D. His dignity avoidance

C. His horse’s management.
Hosmer felt at ease because his hands were occupied with the management of his horse, freeing his demeanor.

21. What did Joçint habitually do to sabotage the mill’s work?

A. Damaging the tools
B. Stealing timber
C. Letting logs roll off
D. Threatening workers

C. Letting logs roll off.
The men reported Joçint’s habit of “letting the logs roll off the carriage,” causing annoyance and delay.

22. What was Hosmer’s horse named?

A. Beauregard
B. Nelson
C. Torpedo
D. Buckskin

B. Nelson.
Thérèse compared her blooded horse, Beauregard, favorably against Hosmer’s heavily built iron-grey, poor Nelson.

23. What did Hosmer say would take the “soul out of his life”?

A. Business failure
B. Melicent’s leaving
C. Thérèse’s departure
D. Returning to St. Louis

C. Thérèse’s departure.
Hosmer stated the insupportable condition for him was “If you were to go away”.

24. What comparison did Melicent make when praising Thérèse?

A. Thérèse was a sage
B. Thérèse was a queen
C. Thérèse was a saint
D. Thérèse was a muse

B. Thérèse was a queen.
Melicent claimed, “When she stands at the end of the veranda… she’s positively a queen”.
25. Why did Thérèse lock her door before supper?

A. To keep Aunt Belindy out
B. To avoid her duties
C. For a moment of solitude
D. To change her habit

C. For a moment of solitude.
Thérèse took “the needless precaution of bringing lock and bolt to the double security of her moment of solitude”.

26. What essential fact did Melicent reveal to Thérèse during their chat?

A. Hosmer was wealthy
B. Hosmer was engaged
C. Hosmer was divorced
D. Hosmer was leaving

C. Hosmer was divorced.
Melicent, realising her indiscretion, revealed that Hosmer’s wife was not dead; “they were divorced two years ago”.

27. What was Hosmer’s immediate fear upon Thérèse learning of the divorce?

A. She would fire him
B. It changed life’s aspect
C. She would forget him
D. She would marry him

B. It changed life’s aspect.
Hosmer was immediately struck by the sharp conviction that this disclosure had “changed the aspect of life for him”.

28. Why did Thérèse argue religion did not influence her view on Hosmer’s divorce?

A. She was Unitarian
B. She accepted the necessity
C. It was a moral principle
D. She was not devoted

C. It was a moral principle.
Thérèse stated, “religion doesn’t influence my reason in this,” citing morality as purely one’s own.

29. What was Hosmer’s first wife’s name?

A. Melicent Larimore
B. Belle Worthington
C. Fanny Larimore
D. Lou Dawson

C. Fanny Larimore.
Hosmer met her on a river excursion and referred to her as “Fanny Larimore”.
30. What was Hosmer doing when his wife first showed signs of alcoholism?

A. Arguing about money
B. Returning with Melicent
C. Leaving for the mill
D. Reading the newspaper

B. Returning with Melicent.
Hosmer and Melicent returned home early and found Fanny lying on the sofa, intoxicated.

31. Who did Hosmer believe he owed the consequence of his actions to?

A. His friends
B. His manhood
C. His business
D. His sister

B. His manhood.
Thérèse told Hosmer that a man owes his manhood “to face the consequences of his own actions”.

32. What reason did Hosmer give Thérèse for doing the “right thing”?

A. It was his moral duty
B. It was because she wanted it
C. It was an act of faith
D. It would bring happiness

B. It was because she wanted it.
Hosmer said, “Whatever I do must be because you want it; because I love you”.

33. What kind of party did Melicent attend in St. Louis?

A. A Unitarian meeting
B. A supper party
C. A euchre party
D. A philosophical debate

C. A euchre party.
In St. Louis, Melicent recalled attending a painful progressive euchre party.

34. What did Hosmer and Fanny do immediately after his return to St. Louis?

A. Filed divorce papers
B. Re-married each other
C. Visited Homeyer
D. Went to a matinée

B. Remarried each other.
They went to Dr Martin’s, and “we’ve got married again,” Fanny informed her friends.
35. Who was Fanny’s friend who struggled with her weight?

A. Lou Dawson
B. Mrs. Duplan
C. Belle Worthington
D. Lucilla

C. Belle Worthington.
Mrs Worthington’s friends teased her about weighing “a hundred and eighty pounds”.

36. Who was the gentleman who worked at the custom house?

A. Mr. Grant
B. Jack Dawson
C. Mr. Rodney
D. Mr. Worthington

D. Mr. Worthington.
Lorenzo Worthington was a gentleman employed for many years past in the custom house.

37. What did Hosmer want to strike and destroy in Forest Park?

A. A passing car
B. A train of cars
C. His own horse
D. The cable car

B. A train of cars.
Hosmer longed to be at the front of a train of cars speeding somewhere overhead to drive it to chaos.

38. How did Hosmer describe his action to himself in the park?

A. Always the coward
B. Always the martyr
C. Always the businessman
D. Always the lover

A. Always the coward.
Hosmer thought: “Am I never to be the brave man? always the coward, flying even from my own thoughts?”.

39. What was Fanny’s immediate reaction upon reaching the Place-du-Bois cottage?

A. Joyful surprise
B. Feeling home-like
C. Soothing silence
D. Sobbing bitterly

D. Sobbing bitterly.
When Hosmer returned after unloading the luggage, Fanny sat on the sofa “sobbing bitterly”.
40. What action did Grégoire take when overcome by love for Melicent?

A. He confessed his feelings
B. He crushed a flower
C. He promised to leave
D. He embraced her

B. He crushed a flower.
Grégoire was so distressed by the thought of separation that he paled and crushed the flower between his nervous fingers.

41. What item did Morico offer Fanny for her distress after the ride?

A. A turkey fan
B. A rocking chair
C. A glass of toddy
D. A corn bread wedge

C. A glass of toddy.
Morico unlocked his garde manger and drew forth a flask of whisky, offering Fanny a glass half filled with strong “toddy”.

42. What local event caused the servants to avoid working after dark?

A. Mardi-Gras
B. Tous-saint’ eve
C. Spring planting
D. A mill accident

B. Tous-saint’ eve.
Grégoire told Fanny it was “‘Tous-saint’ eve—w’en the dead git out o’ their graves an’ walk about”.

43. Who was Joçint’s father?

A. Nathan
B. Morico
C. Pierson
D. Sampson

B. Morico.
Morico was Joçint’s old father, who lived on the place and had been protected by Thérèse.

44. What was Joçint doing immediately before Grégoire confronted him?

A. Cutting timber
B. Sprinkling oil
C. Hiding his dog
D. Playing poker

B. Sprinkling oil.
Joçint was caught “sprinkling the contents of his pail here and there along the dry timbers”.
45. What fatal weapon did Grégoire hold over the arsonist?

A. A rifle
B. A poker
C. A pistol
D. A crowbar

C. A pistol.
Joçint saw Grégoire, not twenty paces away, “covering him with the muzzle of a pistol”.

46. What was the cause of old Morico’s death?

A. Burned in the fire
B. Shock/grief over his son
C. Shot by Grégoire
D. Illness during the night

B. Shock/grief over his son.
After dragging his son’s body to safety, Morico tottered and fell, having gone beyond the knowledge of all earthly happenings.

47. Why did Melicent immediately shun Grégoire after the fire?

A. He was aggressive
B. She was bored
C. She found him crude
D. He murdered a man

D. He murdered a man.
Melicent asked Thérèse, “Think what he’s done; murdered a defenceless man! How can you have him near you?”.

48. What literary device did Grégoire use in his tirade at Chartrand’s store?

A. Quotations
B. Similes
C. Sarcasm
D. Biblical reference

C. Sarcasm.
Grégoire sarcastically called Pierson “A gemmen w’at fit to drink wid a Sanchun”.

49. What realisation hit Hosmer during Fanny’s verbal attack at breakfast?

A. She was drinking
B. She hated him
C. She was jealous of Thérèse
D. She wanted a divorce

C. She was jealous of Thérèse.
Fanny accused Thérèse of “trying to take other women’s husbands,” revealing her jealousy.
50. What happened to Fanny Hosmer?

A. She returned to North
B. She died in the flood
C. She ran away
D. She remarried

B. She died in the flood.
Fanny appeared at the door of Marie Louise’s cabin just before the land section plunged to the other, and the whole mass was submerged.

Brief Overview

At Fault is the debut novel by Kate Chopin, published in 1890. The story is set in post-Civil War Louisiana and centers on a complex love triangle, examining themes of love, duty, and moral conviction.

The novel introduces Thérèse Lafirme, a handsome, wealthy widow who owns the plantation Place-du-Bois. David Hosmer arrives to run a successful sawmill business nearby. Thérèse and Hosmer quickly fall in love.

A moral conflict arises when Hosmer’s sister, Melicent, reveals that David is divorced, not widowed. Hosmer explains that his ex-wife, Fanny, struggled with alcohol. Thérèse believes Hosmer acted wrongly by leaving Fanny. She tells him he must return to Fanny to correct his past fault.

Hosmer returns to St. Louis and remarries Fanny. They move back to the plantation, but Fanny is lonely and unhappy. Meanwhile, tragedy strikes: Thérèse’s nephew, Grégoire, murders a mill worker named Joçint after Joçint burns down the mill.

Hosmer and Fanny have a violent argument. Fanny crosses the dangerous river; the bank collapses, and Fanny drowns. Hosmer is injured while attempting to save her. After a year, Hosmer and Thérèse meet again. They decide that their love must be fulfilled. They marry shortly after and find great happiness together.

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