The Landlady MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

The Landlady MCQs
Updated on: November 2, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

The Landlady MCQs

1. Why did Ordynov first need to change his rooms unexpectedly?

A. Lease expired
B. Landlady departed
C. Rent was too high
D. Landlady’s sickness

B. Landlady departed.
His landlady, a widow of a civil service official, unexpectedly left St. Petersburg to travel to her parents’ country house.

2. What kind of buildings did Ordynov select while searching for new lodgings?

A. New, clean flats
B. Rich mansions
C. Dilapidated, large ones
D. Shops and taverns

C. Dilapidated, large ones.
He chose the most dilapidated, largest, and most crowded buildings hoping to find poor, similar tenants.

3. What emotion did Ordynov first feel outside in the streets after his isolation?

A. Deep depression
B. Anger and confusion
C. Calm cheerfulness
D. Great weariness

C. Calm cheerfulness.
The daily material of existence, often prosaic, evoked in Ordynov a sensation of calm, bright cheerfulness.

4. How did Ordynov calculate that he could survive financially by careful stinting?

A. Two years
B. Three years
C. Four years
D. Ten years

C. Four years.
He calculated that the small sum received as a legacy would allow him to subsist for four years.
5. What single deep passion consumed Ordynov’s vital forces without rest?

A. Love of women
B. Passion for writing
C. Love of learning
D. Political activism

C. Love of learning.
His deepest and most insatiable passion was the love of learning, which acted like a slow poison.

6. How did Ordynov’s devotion to science function, according to the narrator?

A. Gained him fame
B. A weapon against himself
C. Secured his wealth
D. Helped him sleep well

B. A weapon against himself.
While useful for others, Ordynov’s scientific devotion was a weapon he was unintentionally turning against himself.

7. Ordynov’s two years of self-confinement after college resulted in him becoming, essentially, what?

A. A scholar
B. A successful artist
C. A sàvage
D. A refined gentleman

C. A sàvage.
He had shut himself up like a monk, and before two years passed, he had become, essentially, a sàvage.

8. What did Ordynov, for the first time, feel vexed about during his wandering walk?

A. His low funds
B. His solitude in a cell
C. The cold weather
D. The crowded streets

B. His solitude in a cell.
He felt vexed, realising he had foolishly buried himself alive in his solitary cell away from life.

9. Which emotion concerning love troubled Ordynov, who always felt alone in the world?

A. He had no love
B. He hated all women
C. Love was fleeting
D. He lost his true love

A. He had no love.
A thought that particularly troubled him was the circumstance that he had been alone without love or its prospect.
10. What type of structures dominated the prospect where Ordynov wandered before approaching the church?

A. Rich mansions
B. Towers and factories
C. Clean, new houses
D. A quiet forest

B. Towers and factories.
He saw towering, monstrous, blackened, reddish buildings, often cheek by jowl with factories.

11. What building did Ordynov enter where he first saw the mysterious couple?

A. A café
B. A church
C. A shabby restaurant
D. The fortifications

B. A church.
Traversing an alley, Ordynov issued into a square and, hardly knowing why, entered the church.

12. How was the old man, Ilia Murin, primarily dressed when Ordynov first saw him in the church?

A. A simple grey tunic
B. A military uniform
C. A long black fur coat
D. Modern European clothes

C. A long black fur coat.
The tall, vigorous old man was clad in a long coat of black fur which remained unfastened.

13. What object did the old man place over the girl’s head as she knelt to pray?

A. A white scarf
B. A heavy veil
C. A church napkin
D. A velvet hood

C. A church napkin.
The old man took a church napkin and respectfully covered Katerina’s head with it before she sobbed.

14. What emotion defined the girl’s face as she clung to the old man’s arm when leaving the church?

A. Open joy
B. Childish, mysterious fear
C. Calculating cunning
D. Deep resentment

B. Childish, mysterious fear.
Her face bore traces of a sort of childish, mysterious fear as she trembled and clung to the old man.
15. What was the girl’s face wet with when she left the church and encountered Ordynov outside?

A. Rainwater
B. Hot tears
C. Sweat from fear
D. Wine

B. Hot tears.
Hot tears were welling from her dark-blue eyes and running over her pale cheeks as she departed.

16. What kind of business occupied the ground floor of the tenement wing where Murin lived?

A. Cobbler shop
B. Money-lender
C. Coffin-maker
D. Blacksmith shop

C. Coffin-maker.
Ordynov noticed that the ground floor of the tenement wing was tenanted by a coffin-maker.

17. What did Murin loudly state his identity as when Ordynov inquired about his passport?

A. Gentleman
B. Merchant
C. Burgher
D. Civil service official

C. Burgher.
Murin answered with a rude voice, stating, “I am Ilia Murin—burgher. Is that all you want?”.

18. What did Murin tell Ordynov to stop doing after taking the passport through the door chink?

A. Stop eating
B. Stop reading
C. Stop troubling him
D. Stop sleeping

C. Stop troubling him.
Murin took the document through the chink and said, “Very well. Do not trouble me any more”.

19. What did the Dvornik indicate was occasionally wrong with the gentleman, Murin?

A. He drinks too much
B. He is wealthy
C. His head leaves him
D. He is a bad man

C. His head leaves him.
The Tartar dvornik stated that Murin’s head “leaves him sometimes” and he falls ill.
20. Before his misfortunes, what kind of business did Murin reportedly run on the Volga river?

A. Banking
B. Logging
C. Farming
D. Ship ownership

D. Ship ownership.
The Dvornik and Yaroslav Ilyitch both spoke of Murin having ships and sailing them on the Volga.

21. What kind of punishment did Murin inflict on a young merchant, leading to his own subsequent melancholy?

A. Robbery
B. Grave injury
C. Slander
D. Financial ruin

B. Grave injury.
Murin, in a paroxysm of madness, inflicted a grave injury upon a young merchant he loved.

22. What action led to Murin being regarded with great suspicion previously, according to Yaroslav?

A. Stealing from the poor
B. Exercised strong influence
C. Beating his servants
D. Smuggling goods

B. Exercised a strong influence.
He was previously regarded with great suspicion because he used to exercise so strong an influence over those who consulted him.

23. What specific object was nailed to the wall above Murin’s bed in his room?

A. A holy picture
B. A portrait
C. A revolver
D. A whip

C. A revolver.
When Ordynov burst in, he saw Murin seize a revolver from the wall, where it was nailed.

24. When did Ordynov, surprisingly, find himself installed and living in Murin’s rooms?

A. Next week
B. Three days later
C. An hour later
D. That evening

C. An hour later.
An hour after Ordynov’s brief conversation and agreement with Katerina, he found himself installed.
25. What did the Major, a little man in grey, who Ordynov bumped into on the stairs, ask forgiveness for?

A. Being late
B. Having hurried
C. Hurting Ordynov
D. Being the proprietor

C. Hurting Ordynov.
The little man rebounded against the wall and cried, “Oh no!—though I humbly thank you for your attention”.

26. What was the old hunchbacked maid-of-all-work doing when Ordynov first saw her in his room?

A. Cleaning the stove
B. Cooking at the stove
C. Muttering prayers
D. Sewing clothing

B. Cooking at the stove.
Ordynov found the dirty, hunchbacked old woman engaged in cooking dinner at the stove in his room.

27. Katerina told the sick Ordynov that what was “better than bread” and beautiful like the sun?

A. True learning
B. Liberty
C. True love
D. God’s forgiveness

B. Liberty.
Katerina gently encouraged Ordynov to rise, saying that “Liberty is better than bread, and more beautiful even than the sun”.

28. What name did Katerina give when Ordynov finally asked her what her name was?

A. Tinchen
B. Savishna
C. Katerina
D. Luisa

C. Katerina.
When Ordynov asked, she looked straight into his clear blue eyes and replied, “My name is Katerina”.

29. What relationship did Katerina propose that Ordynov and she should maintain?

A. Master and servant
B. Sister and brother
C. Sweethearts
D. Friends and colleagues

B. Sister and brother.
Katerina proposed that when Ordynov recovered, they would become brother and sister to one another.
30. What sound, heard from behind the partition wall, made Ordynov lose consciousness the first night?

A. Katerina weeping
B. A gunshot
C. The squeak of a bolt
D. Murin shouting

C. The squeak of a bolt.
A knock was followed by the squeak of a bolt, signaling Murin’s presence, causing Ordynov to faint.

31. What childhood figure, appearing in his dreams, did Ordynov fear was destined to overshadow his future?

A. His guardian
B. The Dvornik
C. A mysterious old man
D. The coffin-maker

C. A mysterious old man.
A mysterious old man haunted his childhood, filling him with terror and a sense of a foreboding future.

32. What was the old hunchbacked woman doing while Ordynov lay sick in the dark room at night?

A. Singing a hymn
B. Reciting a long story
C. Praying constantly
D. Cleaning the furniture

B. Reciting a long story.
In the darkness, the old hunchbacked woman began to recite a long, interminable story in a low, familiar voice.

33. What did Katerina sometimes seek from Murin to comfort her when consumed by fear?

A. Money
B. A new dress
C. An incantation
D. A glass of wine

C. An incantation.
Katerina said Murin sometimes recites an incantation to comfort her, or takes his book to read.

34. What was Murin reading to Katerina from his largest book, causing her fear?

A. Love stories
B. Gloomy, terrible things
C. History lessons
D. Financial accounts

B. Gloomy, terrible things.
Murin would read from his largest book, which was about gloomy, terrible things, causing Katerina fear.
35. What did Ordynov believe Katerina’s terror meant concerning her relationship with Murin?

A. She had been cured
B. She was innocent
C. She was bewitched
D. She was pregnant

C. She was bewitched.
Katerina moaned that she had been bewitched, crying that the wicked man had cast a spell over her.

36. Katerina’s mother, when weeping bitterly, cried out that Katerina was not her daughter, but what?

A. A wicked soul
B. A serpent
C. A madwoman
D. A wicked girl

B. A serpent.
Her mother cried: “You are no daughter of mine! You are a serpent! You are accursed!”.

37. What did Murin confess to Katerina that he had done that left his hands covered with blood?

A. Killed her father
B. Cut the dogs’ throats
C. Stabbed Alesha
D. Robbed a merchant

B. Cut the dogs’ throats.
Murin told Katerina he had been forced to cut the throats of her father’s dogs that were pursuing them.

38. What object did Katerina throw back at Murin when she re-entered the house after their first encounter?

A. His fur coat
B. A glass of wine
C. A little box of diamonds
D. Her father’s knife

C. A little box of diamonds.
Out of bravado and fixed intention, she laid the little box of gleaming diamonds before her mother.

39. What was the dilemma Murin presented to Katerina in the boat on the stormy river?

A. Whether to marry him
B. Which of the two men must die
C. Whether to call for help
D. Whether she hated him

B. Which of the two men must die.
Murin stated the boat was top-heavy and asked Katerina to decide which man was to “hear that hour sound”.
40. What was Alesha’s relationship to Katerina when he encountered her in the city?

A. Her uncle
B. Her old betrothed
C. Murin’s friend
D. A powerful general

B. Her old betrothed.
Alesha, the young merchant, reminded Katerina that they had been betrothed as children, her former fiancé.

41. What did Katerina confess was her greatest misery, torturing her soul?

A. Losing her father
B. Murin’s violence
C. Being a slave to her shame
D. Being bewitched

C. Being a slave to her shame.
Her greatest misery was being a slave to her own shame and loving her infamy as a blessed recollection.

42. What did Murin claim was Katerina’s primary failing as a woman, despite being told the truth?

A. Lack of virtue
B. Lack of beauty
C. Lack of sagacity
D. Too much strength

C. Lack of sagacity.
Murin claimed one could tell a woman the truth, but never impart to her “intelligence and sagacity”.

43. What did Murin declare sorrow was reserved for, rather than for a “feeble heart” like Katerina’s?

A. For wicked men
B. For the heart of strength
C. For the rich
D. For the poor

B. For the heart of strength.
He stated sorrow is not for the feeble heart; it is for the heart of strength that can silently suffer.

44. What object did Ordynov seize from the wall in the final confrontation with Murin?

A. The revolver
B. A book
C. An ancient dagger
D. A small sword

C. An ancient dagger.
Driven by an evil thought, Ordynov unhooked an ancient dagger from the wall near the bed.
45. What sight caused Ordynov to drop the dagger onto the floor with a clatter?

A. Katerina’s scream
B. Murin laughing hysterically
C. Murin’s eye-opening mockingly
D. Katerina suddenly fainted

C. Murin’s eye opened mockingly.
Ordynov saw one of the old man’s eyes slowly open and gaze into his face with a mocking smile.

46. What word did Katerina cry out when the dagger fell to the floor, awakening from her trance?

A. Murin!
B. Alesha!
C. Brother!
D. Help!

B. Alesha!.
When the dagger fell, Katerina awakened from her nightmare-like trance, crying “Alesha, Alesha!”.

47. What did Murin claim was the official reason Katerina behaved strangely and often felt fearful?

A. She had been cursed
B. She was a little wanting in the head
C. She was too religious
D. She hated gentlemen

B. She was a little wanting in the head.
Murin stated a board had examined her and “was pronounced a little wanting” in the head.

48. What object did Murin give Ordynov as a final parting gift from Katerina, taken from his room?

A. A silver cup
B. Her book of prayers
C. An embroidered tablecloth
D. The box of diamonds

C. An embroidered tablecloth.
Murin returned with the richly embroidered tablecloth, saying Katerina sent it to the young man.

49. What disturbing discovery did Yaroslav Ilyitch inform Ordynov was made in Korschmarov’s Buildings?

A. A murder
B. A counterfeiting ring
C. A band of criminals
D. A huge fire

C. A band of criminals.
Yaroslav excitedly told Ordynov that authorities had unearthed a “band of criminals” or felôns in the buildings.
50. What historical work had Ordynov been fanatically engaged in writing before his overwhelming illness?

A. History of Russia
B. History of Love
C. History of the Church
D. History of Science

C. History of the Church.
The work upon which Ordynov had been engaged with burning fanaticism was a History of the Church.

Brief Overview

The Landlady is a novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, published in 1847. This work is a departure from his usual style, noted for its strong Gothic elements and psychological intensity.

The story follows Ordynov, a solitary young scholar in St. Petersburg. His intense devotion to learning has made him seem strange and isolated. He pursues a beautiful young woman and an old man, Ilia Murin, to rent a room in their decaying building.

Ordynov falls instantly in love with the young woman, Katerina. She tells him she is bewitched and bound to Murin, whom she calls her “implacable foe” and “murderer.” Katerina shares a confusing story about her father’s death and a fire, suggesting a dark past.

Ordynov becomes convinced that Murin is mentally torturing Katerina with his tyrannical influence. Ordynov attempts to attack Murin with a dagger while drunk, but Murin is unfazed. Murin later forces Ordynov to leave, claiming Katerina is insáne. Murin and Katerina then leave town together, leaving Ordynov in deep despair.

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