The Old Bachelor MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 24, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min
The Old Bachelor MCQs

1. Bellmour tells Vainlove that business is the rub of life because it perverts the aim and casts off what?

A. Life’s purpose
B. Good Sense
C. The bias
D. Time’s pursuit

C. The bias.
Business is described as perverting the aim of life, leaving people short of the intended mark, casting off the bias.

2. Bellmour says that wisdom is only pretending to know and believe what?

A. More truth
B. More than
C. Real understanding
D. Nothing really

B. More than.
Bellmour asserts that wisdom involves pretending to know and believe more than people actually do.

3. What occupation does Bellmour declare as his own faculty and pleasure?

A. Wit pleasure
B. Business wealth
C. High orb
D. Low earthly

A. Wit pleasure.
Bellmour declares that “Wit be my faculty, and pleasure my occupation” instead of low earthly pursuits.

4. When Vainlove tosses a letter, Bellmour immediately recognises whose hand it is from.?

A. Araminta’s name
B. A woman’s
C. An idler’s
D. Time’s finger

B. A woman’s.
Bellmour boasts he has a “hawk’s eye” for identifying a letter written in a woman’s hand.
5. Vainlove tells Bellmour that Sylvia is true only in what specific manner?

A. Sweet memory
B. Pure lust
C. Imagination
D. Open love

C. Imagination.
Vainlove mocks Sylvia, suggesting her truthfulness exists only in the realm of her imagination, not reality.

6. Bellmour argues that a woman enjoying a lover in effigy shows great zeal toward whom?

A. The husband
B. The lover
C. Vainlove
D. Herself

A. The husband.
This zealous action of choosing a lover is meant to prove her strong commitment and faithfulness toward her absent husband.

7. Vainlove mentions that if Bellmour converts Alderman Fondlewife to his persuasion, what item will be unnecessary?

A. Bellmour’s presence
B. This letter
C. More zeal
D. Conjugal love

B. This letter.
If Fondlewife accepts Bellmour’s views on effigy, the appointment letter for Laetitia will be redundant.

8. What activity will keep Laetitia company while Fondlewife is out of town, which she plans to prevent?

A. Talking sense
B. Send Spintext
C. Write letters
D. Praying fasting

B. Send Spintext.
Fondlewife plans to send Mr. Spintext to keep Laetitia company, but she intends to ensure he is absent.

9. Bellmour finds that disguise adds a “gusto” to an amour, making it resemble what criminal act?

A. Plain lying
B. Theft
C. Idolatry
D. Fondness

B. Theft.
Bellmour notes that disguise adds excitement, giving the affair the resemblance of a deeply enjoyable sin, like theft.
10. What behaviour does Vainlove exhibit that shows his weak relationship with love, similar to his distaste for wine?

A. Hate forced
B. Strong passion
C. True affection
D. Constant seeking

A. Hate forced.
Vainlove hates love when it is “forced upon a man,” preferring to quit it when it ceases to be natural.

11. Vainlove describes Fondlewife as addicted to jealousy, and what other, contrasting quality?

A. Pure logic
B. Precise manners
C. More fondness
D. Much anger

C. More fondness.
Fondlewife is characterised as being excessively fond, which balances his frequent but easily satisfied jealousy.

12. Whom does Heartwell love that Vainlove fails to pursue, partially because Heartwell believes she is virtuous?

A. Laetitia
B. Belinda
C. Sylvia
D. Araminta

C. Sylvia.
Vainlove intentionally fails Sylvia because Heartwell visits her daily, believing her to possess pure virtue.

13. Bellmour observes that he is damnably in love because he is experiencing an uncomfortable state related to Belinda.

A. Great joy
B. Uneasy
C. Feeling mad
D. Too sick

B. Uneasy.
Bellmour says he is damnably in love because he is “so uneasy” for not having seen Belinda recently.

14. Bellmour complains that he must lie with whose wives, in addition to dealing with his own ten mistresses?

A. Other men’s
B. Old bankers’
C. His friends’
D. Noble families’

A. Other men’s.
Bellmour feels overwhelmed, having to handle Vainlove’s business, including lying with other men’s wives.
15. Sharper warns Bellmour that he is “gone” once a man starts performing what theatrical action?

A. Fine speeches
B. Soliloquies
C. Deep thinking
D. Walking alone

B. Soliloquies.
Sharper suggests that engaging in lonely soliloquies is a sure sign that a man is lost to love.

16. Bellmour says his “business of consequence” today involves putting the “last hand” to finishing what specific person?

A. The banker
B. An alderman
C. Heartwell
D. Vainlove

B. An alderman.
Bellmour explains he must “dub him cuckold” to elevate the alderman to equal dignity with his peers.

17. Sharper lists many reasons Belinda is unsuitable for a wife, but Bellmour is mainly focused on what specific quality?

A. Her looks
B. Her wit
C. Much money
D. Great pride

C. Much money.
Bellmour confirms that despite her faults, she cannot have “too much money,” specifically citing twelve thousand pound.

18. Bellmour compares Heartwell’s unwelcome presence to what item after the lady has suffered smallpox?

A. New clothing
B. A physician
C. Looking-glass
D. Sharp wit

C. Looking-glass.
Heartwell’s presence is described as unwelcome and impolite, like seeing one’s reflection after smallpox.

19. Sharper claims Vainlove loves to set out his amours in what kind of dangerous condition?

A. Foul weather
B. Fine spirit
C. Sailing safely
D. Clear sky

A. Foul weather.
Sharper states Vainlove enjoys fighting the winds and sailing directly “in the teeth of opposition.”
20. Bellmour describes Araminta, Vainlove’s mistress, using what geographical metaphor?

A. Calm ocean
B. Floating island
C. Rocky shore
D. Deep ocean

B. Floating island.
Araminta is called a “kind of floating island,” sometimes near, then vanishing, keeping Vainlove searching.

21. Bellmour tells Heartwell that Vainlove takes only as much of an amour as he desires and quits it when it becomes what?

A. Too serious
B. Stale unpleasant
C. Too costly
D. Very tedious

B. Stale unpleasant.
Vainlove possesses an easy temper, quitting the affair when it grows “stale or unpleasant” to him.

22. Sharper observes that Vainlove does the “drudgery in the mine” so Bellmour can stamp his image on what product?

A. The gold
B. The copper
C. The fruit
D. The labour

A. The gold.
Sharper uses this metaphor to explain that Vainlove sows the seed (the work), and Bellmour reaps the rewards (the gold).

23. Bellmour compares his success to covering what type of game bird, which Vainlove took pains to set?

A. The fox
B. The hawk
C. The partridge
D. The hare

C. The partridge.
Bellmour says Vainlove’s diversion is to set the bird, while his own pleasure is to “cover the partridge.”

24. Heartwell claims that young, flashy sinners have all the guilt of the intention but none of what result?

A. The desire
B. The conviction
C. The pleasure
D. The wisdom

C. The pleasure.
Heartwell argues that these youths are cloyed with the preparation, missing the pleasure of the actual practice.
25. Bellmour implies Vainlove avoids kissing the lady’s lips when the lap-dog possesses what superior attribute?

A. Sweeter breath
B. Gentle spirit
C. Clearer eyes
D. Cleaner skin

A. Sweeter breath.
Vainlove is accused of preferring the dog’s lips for a “more cleanly conveyance” because its breath is sweeter.

26. Sharper suggests that playing with a woman’s fan when she is hot may entitle a man to warm her when she is what?

A. Very angry
B. Should be cold
C. Feeling silly
D. Reading poetry

B. Should be cold.
This small gallantry might later entitle him to the “office of warming her when she should be cold.”

27. Heartwell compares the drudgery of loving to receiving an estate overcharged with what?

A. Many people
B. Debts
C. Fine clothes
D. Great pride

B. Debts.
By the time the debts are paid, the estate yields no profit beyond what tillage and manuring produce.

28. Sharper notes that if whoring is purging, then marriage is akin to entering what kind of regimen?

A. Strict life
B. Constant prayer
C. Course physics
D. Bad business

C. Course physics.
Sharper jokingly implies that marriage functions as a long-term, medicinal treatment after debauchery.

29. Heartwell vows he would not be a cuckold, even to an illustrious whore in England, because he does not want to bear what symbol?

A. Royal crown
B. Ill will
C. My horns
D. New son

C. My horns.
Heartwell finds the idea of being a “stag of the first head” and bearing horns aloft repulsive.
30. What item does Sir Joseph Wittoll confess he has put all his available money upon?

A. Clothes
B. His Back
C. A venture
D. New oaths

B. His Back.
Sir Joseph explains that his money is spent on his friend, Captain Bluffe, whom he refers to as his “Back.”

31. Sharper determines that Bellmour’s rescuer of Sir Joseph Wittoll must be Bellmour because of the account of what?

A. The captain
B. Civil gentleman
C. Ruffians’ attack
D. His fear

B. Civil gentleman.
Sir Joseph mentions being saved by a “civil gentleman,” matching Bellmour’s actions described earlier.

32. Sharper pretends he lost a bill of what monetary value in the scuffle the previous night?

A. Five pounds
B. A hundred
C. Two hundred
D. All his

B. A hundred.
Sharper uses the supposed loss of a hundred-pound bill to leverage payment from Sir Joseph Wittoll.

33. Sir Joseph claims that he is all over acknowledgement and will not stick to show it in the greatest what?

A. Ceremony
B. Extremity
C. Gratitude
D. Great debt

B. Extremity.
Sir Joseph promises to show his acknowledgement in all circumstances, including sickness or “greatest extremity.”

34. Captain Bluffe has retired from the army, claiming the general slighted men of merit and preferred those of what?

A. Great bravery
B. Own design
C. Interest
D. High rank

C. Interest.
Bluffe pretends to have quit the service because the general promoted those with “interest” rather than merit.
35. Sharper compares Captain Bluffe to a drum, noting that both are full of blustering noise and what other quality?

A. Emptiness
B. Great sound
C. Much danger
D. Hard beating

A. Emptiness.
Bluffe is described as having “blustering noise and emptiness,” useful only for being beaten like a drum.

36. Captain Bluffe suggests that Hannibal, a very pretty fellow, would be considered “nothing” if alive when?

A. Now
B. In antiquity
C. Next year
D. In battle

A. Now.
Bluffe boasts that if Hannibal were alive “at this day,” he would be of no consequence whatsoever.

37. Bluffe claims the rascally gazette-writer never mentioned him, acting as if Nol. Bluffe was not in what state?

A. The army
B. The battle
C. The living
D. Flanders

C. The living.
Despite witnessing key events, the writer excluded him entirely, making him seem nonexistent in the land of the living.

38. What religious text does Sir Joseph Wittoll say he finds good morals to be picked out of?

A. The Bible
B. AEsop’s Fables
C. The Gazette
D. The Poem

B. AEsop’s Fables.
Sir Joseph tells Bluffe that there are good morals to be found in both Aesop’s Fables and Reynard the Fox.

39. Araminta’s maid, Betty, is asked to get her hoods and tippet, and bid the footman call what item?

A. A coach
B. A chair
C. A lady
D. Some music

B. A chair.
Belinda calls for her walking attire and instructs the footman to secure a “chair” for her transport.
40. Belinda tells Bellmour that importunity in love, like importunity at court, first creates what?

A. Its interest
B. Great debt
C. Much trouble
D. A problem

A. Its interest.
Importunity, when persistent, is effective because it forces the creation of its own influence or interest.

41. Araminta compares favours gained by impudence to discoveries made from what torture device?

A. The rack
B. The stocks
C. The pillory
D. The chain

A. The rack.
She means the resulting confessions are often made only for ease, not because they are true secrets of the heart.

42. Vainlove asserts that ladies are the temples of love, and devotion must be conveyed through whom?

A. The parson
B. Only them
C. The idols
D. The prayer

B. Only them.
Vainlove states that since the women are the temples, all the men’s devotion must pass through them.

43. Bellmour suggests he must have all his actions free to quicken Belinda’s apprehension if he is what?

A. Very angry
B. Tongue-tied
C. Feeling cold
D. Quite foolish

B. Tongue-tied.
If he cannot speak, Bellmour argues that his silent gestures are his “most prevailing argument.”

44. Lucy warns Sylvia that she may as soon hope to recover her own maidenhead as what other loss?

A. His love
B. Her money
C. Old age
D. True honor

A. His love.
Lucy advises Sylvia to abandon hope for Vainlove’s affection and focus on securing Heartwell immediately.
45. Lucy reveals that Vainlove received Sylvia’s letter with “damned senseless” what specific reaction?

A. Anger
B. Indifference
C. Scorn
D. Great fury

B. Indifference.
Vainlove received the passionate letter with total apathy, simply saying he would take time to peruse it.

46. Heartwell compares entering Sylvia’s house to putting on what mythical, poisoned garment?

A. A gown
B. Shirt
C. Great cloak
D. Silk dress

B. Shirt.
He compares the danger of pursuing Sylvia to putting on the “envenomed shirt,” leading to a fever.

47. Setter’s fanatic disguise includes a black patch worn over one eye to mourn what former misdeeds?

A. Past sins
B. His youth
C. Ogling offences
D. His wife

C. Ogling offences.
Tribulation Spintext wore the patch as penal mourning for the “ogling offences of his youth.”

48. Setter determines that to be honest is nothing, and reputation itself is as foolish a thing as what?

A. Poverty
B. Honesty
C. Great fortune
D. True worth

B. Honesty.
Setter concludes that for poor people, honesty and reputation are both useless compared to immediate wealth.

49. When Fondlewife returns unexpectedly, Bellmour begins looking around desperately for what critical disguise item?

A. His cloak
B. His patch
C. The book
D. His hat

B. His patch.
Bellmour panics when he hears Fondlewife, cursing and searching for his crucial black eye patch.
50. When Bellmour is discovered, Fondlewife worries he is being transformed into what horned animal?

A. A bull
B. A sheep
C. A cuckold
D. A monster

C. A cuckold.
Fondlewife screams, “Am I then brutified? Ay, I feel it here; I sprout, I bud, I blossom, I am ripe-horn-mad.”

Brief Overview

The Old Bachelor is a comedic play by William Congreve. It was first performed and published in 1693. This classic Restoration comedy of manners explores themes of love, deception, marriage, and social dynamics through a witty, satirical lens.

The play follows several couples. Bellmour is a witty man who wants two women: the wealthy Belinda and Laetitia, the wife of the old, jealous banker Fondlewife. Bellmour uses a parson disguise to meet Laetitia in secret. Fondlewife catches them, but Bellmour and Laetitia quickly fool the husband into believing her innocence.

Bellmour’s friend, Vainlove, is pursuing Araminta. Vainlove suddenly stops chasing her because Araminta seemed too eager in a fake love letter. This letter was sent by Sylvia, Vainlove’s former mistress.

The cynical Heartwell, who pretended to hate women, decides to marry Sylvia. Sylvia’s maid, Lucy, mistakes Bellmour in his priest costume for the real minister. Bellmour performs the marriage, but this is done as a joke.

Meanwhile, Sharper and his helper, Setter, trick the foolish Sir Joseph Wittoll and the bragging, cowardly Captain Bluffe.

In the end, Bellmour helps Heartwell escape his rushed joke marriage. Sylvia is then married to Sir Joseph Wittoll instead. Bellmour decides to marry Belinda, and Vainlove reconciles with Araminta. Heartwell celebrates his freedom from wedlock.

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