Sir Patient Fancy MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 23, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Sir Patient Fancy MCQs

1. What is the greatest complaint Isabella makes against custom for her sex?

A. Filthy jointure
B. Forced choices
C. Formal visits
D. Parents’ rules

B. Forced choices.
Isabella laments that custom denies women “free choice,” forcing them to endure the recommendations of a parent.

2. What negative consequence of marriage does Lucretia note?

A. Loss fortune
B. Slavery Fools
C. Odious foppe
D. Custom rules

B. Slavery Fools.
Lucretia observes that parents choose husbands (fools) for their daughters, resulting in their slavery for a jointure.

3. What does Lucretia perceive her mother has recently developed toward Leander?

A. Softer eyes
B. Great wealth
C. Fond opinion
D. Matrimonial aim

A. Softer eyes.
Lucretia and Isabella perceive that Lady Knowell is directing softer looks and smiles toward Leander, trying to entice him.

4. Who does Lucretia fear her mother may choose to marry?

A. Her cousin
B. Lodwick’s friend
C. Leander Fancy
D. Devonshire knight

C. Leander Fancy.
Lucretia is vexed by the possibility of her mother marrying her lover, Leander, saying she will never call him father.
5. Which type of man is described as the most unmanageable beast in nature?

A. Old Dotard
B. Town Fop
C. Country Fop
D. Learned man

B. Town Fop.
Isabella states that “those of the Town” are the most tiresome and unmanageable beasts, unlike country fops.

6. What unusual attribute characterizes Lady Knowell?

A. Highly discreet
B. Most learned
C. Great traveller
D. Affectedly charming

B. Most learned.
Isabella notes that Lady Knowell is virtuous and affected, but her uniqueness lies in being the “most learned of her Sex”.

7. Who is blamed for turning Isabella’s father into a “Monster”?

A. Doting love
B. His religion
C. Young mother
D. Feigned sickness

C. Young mother.
Isabella states that her young mother flatters her father into foolishness, making a monster of him.

8. When Lady Knowell reads serious works, which subject does she focus on?

A. Love Stories
B. Homer’s Poetry
C. Morals Authors
D. Heroick business

C. Morals Authors.
Lady Knowell prefers “useful Author[s]” such as Tacitus, Seneca, or Plutarch’s Morals when reading seriously.

9. What foreign language does Lady Knowell prefer for expressive reading?

A. Divine Homer
B. English language
C. Grecian Language
D. French Dialogue

C. Grecian Language.
Lady Knowell insists that great or moving concepts cannot be expressed in “filthy English,” preferring the Grecian Language.
10. What classical author does Lady Knowell want to read to cheer herself up?

A. Virgil Homer
B. Plutarch’s Morals
C. Martiall Author
D. Tacitus Seneca

C. Martiall Author.
Lady Knowell suggests retiring to her Cabinet to read “a leaf or two in Martiall” to find a reason to laugh.

11. Which character claims that Leander spells worse than a “Country Farryer”?

A. Lucretia
B. Isabella
C. Lady Knowell
D. Lodwick

B. Isabella.
Isabella joins Lucretia in mocking Leander, claiming he spells even worse than an uneducated farrier prescribing medicine.

12. Who is the “Creature” Lodwick says is more ridiculous than a Buffoon?

A. Lucretia’s cousin
B. Lodwick’s friend
C. Presbyterian Preacher
D. Sir Credulous

D. Sir Credulous.
Lodwick announces that Sir Credulous Easie, Lucretia’s new lover, is a creature below, more ridiculous than expected.

13. What reason did Sir Credulous give for selling off all his pads (horses)?

A. Mare departed
B. Lives in town
C. Lack of money
D. Loves walking

B. Lives in town.
Sir Credulous explains that since he is marrying and intends to live in London, he must sell off all his pads.

14. Who does Sir Credulous plan to visit at St Clements Church-yard?

A. Dog tutor
B. Farmer’s son
C. Parson Cuffets
D. Jackson Cobler

D. Jackson Cobler.
Sir Credulous instructs Curry to go to Jackson the Cobler at St. Clements Church-yard to check on his dog.
15. How long has Sir Credulous owned the suit he wears to London?

A. Eight visits
B. Since last summer
C. Five years
D. Ten terms

C. Five years.
Curry points out that the suit is out of fashion, as it was made five summers and five winters ago (five years).

16. Why does Sir Credulous believe he has failed in past courtships?

A. Women false
B. They ran
C. All forward
D. Used one method

C. All forward.
He believes the women were “all so forward” that they married someone else or ran away before he could formalise the match.

17. Why does Sir Credulous agree to play the Dùmb Ambassador?

A. Rare fun
B. Excellent at Signes
C. Lodwick helped
D. Out of the way

B. Excellent at Signes.
Sir Credulous finds the idea “pure” and “rare” because he boasts that he is “old Excellent at Signes”.

18. What unexpected problem arises during the Dùmb Ambassador farce?

A. Sir Credulous
B. Tokens missing
C. Lodwick mistook
D. The ladies laughed

C. Lodwick mistook.
Sir Credulous complains that Lodwick keeps entirely mistaking the meaning of his signs, costing him his jewellery.

19. Lodwick warns Sir Credulous that the lavish gifts may result in what consequence?

A. Marries him
B. Cuckold him
C. Saves his gems
D. Shame conscience

B. Cuckold him.
Upon describing the watch’s hours of enjoyment, Lodwick says Sir Credulous might “be a Cuckold by the shift”.
20. What is Leander doing when he is called away during the farce?

A. Dùmb Oration
B. Making faces
C. Waiting on Mother
D. Talking softly

C. Waiting on Mother.
A Page arrives commanding Leander to attend upon Lady Knowell, cutting his observation of the farce short.

21. What did Sir Credulous’s landlady receive in exchange for a kindness?

A. Half crown
B. Cambrick handkerchief
C. Jet bracelets
D. Lodwick’s gold

B. Cambrick handkerchief.
Lodwick’s false interpretation claims Sir Credulous gave the landlady the handkerchief token for a civility received.

22. What prevents Lodwick from losing his chance to see Isabella?

A. Credulous’s arrival
B. Mother’s visit
C. Leander’s wait
D. Curry’s presence

B. Mother’s visit.
Lodwick is obliged to lose a “blessed opportunity” with Isabella because his sister’s lover, Sir Credulous, has just arrived.

23. Wittmore describes Sir Patient’s new religion as primarily what?

A. Faith in God
B. Contradiction only
C. Pious zeal
D. Public opinion

B. Contradiction only.
Lady Fancy tells Wittmore that Sir Patient’s religion “means nothing but that, and Contradiction”.

24. What office does Sir Patient perform for Lady Fancy due to his fondness?

A. Pays servants
B. Dresses undresses
C. Visits others
D. Reads books

B. Dresses undresses.
Lady Fancy complains that Sir Patient is so fond that he performs the duties of her women, dressing and undressing her.
25. Why has Sir Patient stopped trading (Transitory Traffick)?

A. Lack of money
B. Cautiously rich
C. Mutinous caball
D. Imagined sickness

B. Cautiously rich.
Wittmore asks if Sir Patient still trades, and Lady Fancy says he is “Grown Cautiously rich” and won’t venture substantial stock.

26. Who is the “Scout” that warns Lady Fancy of Sir Patient’s awakening?

A. Maundy
B. Roger
C. Fain-Love
D. Lady Knowell

B. Roger.
Roger runs in quickly to warn Lady Fancy and Wittmore that his Master (Sir Patient) has risen from sleep.

27. What does Sir Patient check on the bill he is reading when he enters the garden?

A. Total costs
B. Doctor’s name
C. Twelve Purges
D. Apothecary’s prize

C. Twelve Purges.
Sir Patient enters, reading a medical bill, checking if the total number of purges for January (Twelve Purges) exceeds last month’s.

28. What does Wittmore claim he must gain to marry Isabella?

A. Consent Cuckold
B. Patience’s permission
C. Father’s respect
D. Family wealth

B. Patience’s permission.
Wittmore dissembles, claiming he will not marry Isabella without Sir Patient’s permission, hoping to gain his consent.

29. Wittmore claims his father was knighted during the days of what leader?

A. King Charles
B. Lord Protector
C. King Philip
D. King George

B. Lord Protector.
Sir Patient recognises the false identity, recalling that Wittmore’s father (Mr Fain-Love) was knighted under the late Lord Protector.
30. Why does Sir Patient decide to leave London immediately in Act IV?

A. Sister’s Lover
B. Lady Knowell
C. Family problems
D. Fears sickness

B. Lady Knowell.
Sir Patient calls Lady Knowell the “intolerable Lady, Madam Romance” and resolves to leave town rather than be tormented by her.

31. What action of Sir Patient’s triggers Lady Fancy’s plan to feign his illness?

A. Called her
B. Brother sick
C. Ready to leave
D. Took physic

C. Ready to leave.
Lady Fancy panics because Sir Patient is immediately dressing to leave town, which would prevent her from seeing Wittmore.

32. What condition does Lady Fancy pretend to suffer from to stop Sir Patient from leaving?

A. Frightfully blown up
B. Shivering limbs
C. Feeling Imagination
D. Head and eyes

A. Frightfully blown up.
Lady Fancy claims Sir Patient’s face has become frightfully swollen and his eyes are starting to swell up.

33. What did the sight of his doublet/coat prove to Sir Patient?

A. He was lost
B. Senses fail
C. He was sick
D. He was swollen

D. He was swollen.
When Sir Patient tries on his Doublet and Coat, and they don’t fit, he is convinced he has indeed swelled up.

34. What action does Lady Knowell say Lady Fancy’s husband is unfit for?

A. Being a knight
B. Being a nurse
C. Being a slave
D. Being a lord

B. Being a nurse.
Lady Knowell insults Sir Patient, calling him impudent for marrying such a fair woman only to make her a nurse.
35. What does Lodwick offer Isabella as proof that he will marry her honestly?

A. Mother’s resolve
B. Generosity’s promise
C. Not sully linen
D. Punctual lover

C. Not sully linen.
Lodwick assures Isabella of his good intentions, asking, “Who would first sully the Linen they mean to put on?”.

36. Who leads Lodwick into Lady Fancy’s chamber by mistake?

A. Isabella
B. Fanny
C. Wittmore
D. Maundy

D. Maundy.
Maundy, thinking Lodwick is Wittmore (the expected lover), leads him into Lady Fancy’s chamber in the dark.

37. What makes Lodwick realise he is in the wrong room?

A. Her name
B. Husband’s voice
C. Lack of virtue
D. Isabella’s voice

B. Husband’s voice.
Lady Fancy mentions her “Husband” and Lodwick suddenly realises “Hah,—’tis not Isabella’s voice”.

38. Where does Isabella hide when Sir Patient unexpectedly returns?

A. Under the table
B. Behind the curtain
C. Next chamber
D. Garden door

B. Behind the curtain.
When Sir Patient enters the room, Isabella, who has also mistaken the chamber, hides behind the curtain.

39. What does Lady Fancy claim is the reason Lodwick is in her bedchamber?

A. Absolute accident
B. Mistook the chamber
C. Isabella’s lover
D. Her own sin

B. Mistook the chamber.
Lady Fancy explains that Lodwick (mistaken for Fain-Love) went to the wrong room, believing it was Isabella’s.
40. What action does Lady Fancy make immediately after Sir Patient exits with Lodwick?

A. Asks about Wittmore
B. Curses Lodwick
C. Weeps sadly
D. Plans revenge

B. Curses Lodwick.
As Lodwick leaves, Lady Fancy whispers, “Ten thousand Curses upon thee” for the havoc and mistake he caused.

41. What type of instruments provided the “Hellish Noise” during the Serenade?

A. Popish Horn-Pipes
B. Jesuitical Cymballs
C. Babylonish Minstrells
D. All of these

D. All of these.
Sir Patient, hearing the noise, describes the sounds as profane tinkling, Popish Horn-Pipes, and Jesuitical Cymballs.

42. What type of music was Lodwick accused of trying to spoil during the Serenade?

A. King’s music
B. Bad ballad
C. Designed Serenade
D. Cymballs only

C. Designed Serenade.
Lodwick, intervening in the fight, realises the servants are “spoiling my designed Serenade too”.

43. What literary fault does Sir Credulous’s mother-in-law (Lady Knowell) accuse him of?

A. Too serious
B. Hypothetical arguing
C. Illiterate writing
D. Lacking learning

B. Hypothetical arguing.
Lady Knowell, annoyed by his ambiguous complaints, tells Sir Credulous she hates his “Hypothetical way of arguing”.

44. Who is Sir Credulous most afraid of because of the newly invented poison plot?

A. Lodwick’s sister
B. Leander rival
C. Hector killer
D. Angry man

B. Leander rival.
Lodwick informs Sir Credulous that Leander, his true rival, is the one who plans to use the silent, subtle poison on him.
45. Why does Lady Fancy claim she wrote the compromising love letter?

A. Confess sin
B. To save Lodwick
C. Found Isabella’s
D. Test Sir Patient

C. Found Isabella’s.
Lady Fancy claims she found the letter open on Isabella’s table and copied it out of curiosity, intending to show it to her husband.

46. What specific amount of money does Sir Patient reveal he has hidden for his wife?

A. Five hundred
B. Two thousand
C. Eight thousand
D. Four thousand

C. Eight thousand.
Sir Patient reveals he concealed eight thousand Pounds in gold and silver for Lady Fancy behind the wainscot in his study.

47. What reason does Lady Fancy give to avoid going to prayer with Sir Patient?

A. Bad cold
B. Psalm singing
C. Headaches
D. Disorder

C. Headaches.
Lady Fancy complains of a painful headache, claiming she is unable to endure the psalm singing at devotion.

48. What excuse does Lady Fancy use to cover the crash when Wittmore falls in the bedroom?

A. Sudden giddiness
B. The death-watch
C. Roger’s carelessness
D. Spirits fail

A. Sudden giddiness.
She claims she suffered a “sudden giddiness,” causing her to fall and pull the chair down with her.

49. What does Lodwick propose to the Doctors to rectify Sir Patient’s constitution?

A. Eat less
B. Drink wine
C. Fasting pills
D. Walk more

A. Eat less.
Sir Credulous (instructed by Lodwick) proposes that Sir Patient should eat only “once in four or five daies” to cure his blood.
50. What final resolution does Sir Patient come to after being tricked by everyone?

A. Turn Spark
B. Join Conventicles
C. Leave London
D. Write books

A. Turn Spark.
Cured of his folly, Sir Patient decides to “turn Spark,” keep a mistress, go to Court, and hate all Conventicles.

Brief Overview

Sir Patient Fancy is a comedic play by Aphra Behn. It was first performed and published in 1678. A major hit of the Restoration stage, the play functions as a comedy of manners that satirizes the hypocrisy and social pretense of its time.

The story centers on Sir Patient Fancy, an old, easily tricked gentleman obsessed with his own health. His young wife, Lady Fancy (Lucia), pretends to be a pious, learned woman to hide her true self. Lady Fancy is actively having an affair with a man named Wittmore.

Sir Patient has a daughter, Isabella (Isab.), who loves Lodwick. Lodwick is the son of Lady Knowell, a very loud, learned, and affected woman. Lodwick’s sister, Lucretia (Lucr.), loves Leander. Lady Knowell desires Leander for herself.

A foolish country knight, Sir Credulous Easie (Sir Cred.), is forced upon Lucretia as a husband. Lodwick and Leander trick Sir Credulous into stopping this unwanted marriage. Wittmore, Lady Fancy’s lover, uses a disguise as Mr. Fain-love to marry Isabella, giving him easy access to Lady Fancy.

Lady Fancy and Lodwick mistake each other for their real lovers in the dark. Sir Patient discovers Lodwick hiding in his bedroom, but he is tricked into thinking Lodwick is Fain-love (Wittmore), who simply mistook the room while looking for Isabella.

The play concludes with the young couples getting married: Lodwick marries Isabella, and Leander marries Lucretia. Sir Patient catches Lady Fancy and Wittmore together and discovers her deceit. Cured of his old ways and hypocrisy, Sir Patient decides to reform and “turn Spark.”

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