The Virgin and the Gipsy MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

The Virgin and the Gipsy MCQs
Updated on: October 12, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 18 min

The Virgin and the Gípsy MCQs

1. What caused the initial scandal involving the vicar’s family?

A. The vicar lost his faith
B. The vicar’s wife ran off with a young and penniless man
C. The vicar was accused of essay writing
D. The vicar’s house burned down

B. The vicar’s wife ran off with a young and penniless man.

The mother’s choice to follow her passion creates a deep fear of sexuality and scandal in the family home.

2. The Papplewick rectory was described as a rather ugly stone house located near what body of water?

A. The Papple river
B. The North Sea
C. A stagnant pond
D. The industrial canal

A. The Papple river.

The house and its location next to the river symbolize the cold, damp, and emotionally stagnant life of the family.

3. Who became the central figure in the rectory household?

A. Aunt Cissie
B. Uncle Fred
C. Granny (The Mater)
D. Lucille

C. Granny (The Mater).

Granny’s powerful and life-denying will dominates the entire family and household.

4. Aunt Cissie was over forty, pale, pious, and gnawed by what internal issue?

A. Guilt
B. Financial worry
C. An inward worm
D. Hunger

C. An inward worm.

This metaphor describes Aunt Cissie’s repressed desires and bitterness, which eat away at her from the inside.

5. What symbolic image did The Mater establish for the rector’s deceased/delinquent wife?

A. A pure white snowflower
B. A poisonous berry
C. A withered oak leaf
D. A bright sun

A. A pure white snowflower.

Granny creates a false, pure image of the runaway wife to hide the messy reality of sex and passion.

6. What name did the family sometimes use for the actual woman who had left?

A. The Bad Nettle
B. She-who-was-Cynthia
C. Arthur’s Mistake
D. The Widow

B. She-who-was-Cynthia.

This cold name shows how the family has tried to erase the mother’s real identity and the scandal she caused.

7. What “rank, evil smell” sometimes came from the squalid world to the children?

A. The smell of tobacco
B. The smell of selfishness and degraded lust
C. The smell of wet wool
D. The smell of old food

B. The smell of selfishness and degraded lust.

The children can sense the ugly, hidden emotions of the adults, which feels like a bad smell in the house.

8. Who was Granny’s great rival among the younger generation?

A. Lucille
B. Aunt Cissie
C. Yvette
D. Uncle Fred

C. Yvette.

Granny sees Yvette’s youthful vitality and connection to her mother’s spirit as a threat to her own power.

9. What were the approximate ages of Lucille and Yvette when they finally came home from school?

A. 23 and 21
B. Nearly twenty-one and nineteen
C. 18 and 16
D. 25 and 23

B. Nearly twenty-one and nineteen.

The girls return as young women, ready for life and love, but find their home to be a prison.

10. What did Yvette hope would happen to her romantically?

A. To fall violently in love
B. To marry a rich man
C. To settle down quickly
D. To avoid men altogether

A. To fall violently in love.

Yvette is bored with proper society boys and longs for a powerful, overwhelming passion.

11. What impression did the rectory strike the girls with upon their return?

A. Elegant and modern
B. Ugly, almost sordid, with a dank, unclean air
C. Warm and welcoming
D. Vast and intimidating

B. Ugly, almost sordid, with a dank, unclean air.

After being away, the girls see their home clearly for the first time as an emotionally dirty and stifling place.

12. How was the life in the village of Papplewick characterized?

A. Glamorous and fast-paced
B. Stony and dour
C. Transient and forgiving
D. Highly cultured

B. Stony and dour.

The industrial village is as cold and lifeless as the rectory, offering no escape for Yvette.

13. When Yvette opened the window for fresh air, who immediately closed it, without looking at his daughter?

A. Uncle Fred
B. The Rector
C. Granny
D. Aunt Cissie

B. The Rector.

This simple action shows the rector’s fear of the outside world and his refusal to acknowledge his daughter’s desires.

14. How did Granny physically express her “gross physical complacency” after meals?

A. She coughed loudly
B. She “rifted” (belched)
C. She snored
D. She exercised

B. She “rifted” (belched).

Granny’s vulgar physical habits disgust Yvette, representing the ugly, animalistic nature hidden beneath the family’s respectability.

15. What action by Yvette during tea caused Aunt Cissie’s “green rage” to fuse in her heart?

A. She insulted Granny
B. She accidentally knocked over a cup
C. She helped herself to Aunt Cissie’s cake
D. She mocked Leo Wetherell

C. She helped herself to Aunt Cissie’s cake.

This small act of defiance over a piece of cake triggers the repressed fury of the household.

16. Yvette suddenly saw Granny’s “stony, implacable will-to-power” and compared her to what creature hunting bees?

A. An old crocodile
B. An aged, bulging toad
C. A large wolf
D. A sleepy cat

B. An aged, bulging toad.

This powerful image shows Yvette’s realization that her grandmother is a cold, predatory creature who consumes the life of others.

17. What happened to the toad that Yvette watched swallowing bees?

A. It was relocated
B. It was killed by the gardener with a stone
C. It died of old age
D. It was caught by Uncle Fred

B. It was killed by the gardener with a stone.

The violent death of the toad foreshadows Granny’s own death by a powerful, natural force.

18. Who did the young people encounter on the upland lane, driving a light cart?

A. Uncle Fred
B. A gipsý man
C. The Duke
D. Lady Louth’s chauffeur

B. A gipsý man.

This is the first appearance of the gipsy, who represents a world of freedom, instinct, and otherness.

19. What word described the gipsý man’s gaze towards the occupants of the car?

A. Terrified
B. Insolent in its indifference
C. Desperate
D. Questioning

B. Insolent in its indifference.

The gipsy does not care about their social class or opinions. His indifference challenges Yvette’s sense of self.

20. What feeling took fire in Yvette’s breast when she met the gipsý’s eyes?

A. Hatred
B. She realized he was stronger than she was, and didn’t care
C. Amusement
D. Maternal instinct

B. She realized he was stronger than she was, and didn’t care.

His powerful, indifferent gaze awakens a new awareness in Yvette, making her feel powerless for the first time.

21. What kind of pride was evident in the male gipsý’s eyes while he watched the group?

A. The pride of the wealthy
B. The pride of the pariah
C. The pride of a loyal husband
D. The pride of a good craftsman

B. The pride of the pariah.

As an outcast (a pariah), the gipsy has a defiant pride that comes from being completely outside of society.

22. When Yvette emerged from the caravan, how was her appearance described?

A. Triumphant and joyous
B. Like a witch, silent and stooping
C. Distressed and weeping
D. Suddenly practical

B. Like a witch, silent and stooping.

Having her fortune told is a disturbing and transformative experience that leaves her looking dazed and strange.

23. What was the total amount that Yvette admitted to borrowing from the proceeds of Mary in the Mirror?

A. Fifteen shillings
B. Three pounds thirteen
C. Seven pounds
D. Her entire allowance

B. Three pounds thirteen.

This small debt creates a huge scandal in the family, showing their obsession with money and appearances.

24. The rector feared Yvette was developing the tainted qualities of whom?

A. Uncle Fred
B. Granny
C. She-who-was-Cynthia
D. Aunt Cissie

C. She-who-was-Cynthia.

The rector is terrified that Yvette will repeat her mother’s scandalous behavior and run away.

25. What negative description did the rector apply to his own feelings/heart?

A. A silver shield
B. A kind core
C. A fat, awful worm
D. A noble sacrifice

C. A fat, awful worm.

This image reveals the rector’s hidden self-loathing and the corrupt, worm-like selfishness at the heart of his piety.

26. Why did Yvette’s whole flesh shrink after the incident?

A. She was cold
B. She felt physical contagion from the “leprous money”
C. She was injured by Aunt Cissie
D. She was extremely tired

B. She felt physical contagion from the “leprous money”.

Yvette feels that the family’s obsession with money is a disease that has physically tainted her.

27. What did Yvette think the Saywells always wanted to defile?

A. The rectory reputation
B. Her sensitive, clean flesh and blood
C. The family honor
D. The church funds

B. Her sensitive, clean flesh and blood.

She feels her family’s ugly emotions are an attack on her own vibrant, physical being.

28. After the confrontation with Aunt Cissie, Yvette wished she lived where?

A. In the city
B. In a camp, in a caravan, like a gipsý
C. Back in Lausanne
D. With the Framleys

B. In a camp, in a caravan, like a gipsý.

After the ugly family fight, Yvette longs for the free and unconventional life of the gipsies.

29. What quality of the gipsý woman did Yvette admire?

A. Her wealth
B. Her covert, unyielding sex and defiant pride
C. Her piety
D. Her elegant manners

B. Her covert, unyielding sex and defiant pride.

Yvette is drawn to the gipsy woman’s powerful, defiant sexuality, which is the opposite of the rectory’s repression.

30. How did the gipsý man’s “naked insinuation of desire” affect Yvette?

A. It made her furious
B. It made her life prone and powerless
C. It made her embarrassed
D. It made her laugh

B. It made her life prone and powerless.

His raw, animal-like desire awakens a powerful and frightening response in her that she cannot control.

31. What comment by Granny triggered Lucille’s furious outburst?

A. That Yvette should apologize
B. About them coming of “half-depraved stock”
C. That they were too selfish
D. That they should take Vibrofat

B. About them coming of “half-depraved stock”.

This insult against their runaway mother finally makes the usually calm Lucille snap and defend her.

32. After the gipsý left, what did Yvette say to herself, disappointed she could not shake off the dream-like encounter?

A. He has too much power over me
B. No, he hasn’t any power over me!
C. I must forget him
D. I must pray for him

B. No, he hasn’t any power over me!.

Yvette tries to deny the powerful effect the gipsy has on her, but she is unable to forget him.

33. Yvette was dressing up to counteract the gipsý seeing what hidden quality in her?

A. Her vanity
B. The dark, tremulous, potent secret of her virginity
C. Her family history
D. Her bad temper

B. The dark, tremulous, potent secret of her virginity.

She feels the gipsy could see her deepest, most vulnerable self, and she tries to hide it with fancy clothes.

34. On Friday, Yvette felt her intrinsic body was where?

A. At home sewing
B. Away, at the quarry, among the caravans
C. In the church choir
D. Touring the city

B. Away, at the quarry, among the caravans.

Her mind is at home, but she feels her true, essential self is with the gipsies.

35. What was the gipsý’s wife and cart doing on the Friday Yvette visited alone?

A. At the rectory
B. Gone out with the basket, selling things
C. Hiding from the police
D. Visiting family

B. Gone out with the basket, selling things.

This detail leaves Yvette and the gipsy man alone together, creating a moment of tension and possibility.

36. What was the intruding sound that stopped Yvette from entering the gipsý’s caravan?

A. A church bell
B. A motor-car rushing near
C. A falling rock
D. A police siren

B. A motor-car rushing near.

The sound of the modern world (a car) interrupts the timeless, primitive moment between Yvette and the gipsy.

37. How did the little Jewess describe her current relationship status?

A. Recently married
B. On her honeymoon before the divorce was final
C. A pious spinster
D. Engaged to the gipsý

B. On her honeymoon before the divorce was final.

The arrival of this unconventional couple provides Yvette with a real-life example of people living outside of normal rules.

38. What shared history did Major Eastwood and the gipsý man discover they had?

A. They were neighbors
B. The gipsý had served with the artillery teams in the Major’s regiment
C. They were related
D. They were both essayists

B. The gipsý had served with the artillery teams in the Major’s regiment.

This shared military past suddenly places the gipsy within a social system, making him seem less mysterious to Yvette.

39. What terrible outcome did the rector threaten Yvette with if she did not curb her tendencies?

A. Financial hardship
B. Criminal-lunacy asylum
C. Banishment to London
D. Forced marriage

B. Criminal-lunacy asylum.

The rector uses the threat of madness to try and control his daughter’s unconventional behavior.

40. What action did the rector vow he would take before allowing Yvette to follow her mother’s path?

A. He would kill her
B. He would disown her
C. He would seek help
D. He would pray continuously

A. He would kill her.

This violent threat shows the depth of the rector’s fear of scandal and his desire to control his daughter.

41. Whom did Yvette come to detest with a “pure, sheer hatred which is almost a joy”?

A. The Eastwoods
B. Granny
C. Lucille
D. Aunt Cissie

B. Granny.

After the family fights, Yvette’s dislike of her grandmother transforms into a pure, liberating hatred.

42. Yvette felt that if she belonged to any side or clan, it was to that of whom?

A. Her mother, Cynthia
B. The gipsý
C. The Framleys
D. The rector

B. The gipsý.

Yvette rejects her own family and society, and chooses to align herself with the outsider, the gipsy.

43. What was the first part of the message the old gipsý dreamed for Yvette?

A. Trust no one
B. Be braver in your body, or your luck will leave you
C. Leave Papplewick now
D. Find happiness in marriage

B. Be braver in your body, or your luck will leave you.

The gipsy’s prophetic message is a direct instruction for Yvette to trust her physical instincts over her fearful mind.

44. What was the second instruction in the gipsý’s prophetic message?

A. Listen for the sound of bells
B. Listen for the voice of water
C. Climb the highest hill
D. Wait for the dark man

B. Listen for the voice of water.

This part of the prophecy foreshadows the climactic flood that will destroy the rectory.

45. Yvette had a curious reluctance towards what, preventing her from revisiting the gípsies?

A. Speaking to her father
B. Taking action, or making any real move of her own
C. Cycling in the mud
D. Eating the camp food

B. Taking action, or making any real move of her own.

Even though she desires freedom, Yvette is paralyzed by her conventional upbringing and finds it hard to act decisively.

46. What sight did Yvette witness approaching round the bend of the river?

A. A flock of birds
B. A shaggy, tawny wavefront of water advancing like a wall of lions
C. A fisherman’s boat
D. Her father returning

B. A shaggy, tawny wavefront of water advancing like a wall of lions.

The flood arrives as a powerful, animal-like force of nature, ready to destroy the stagnant world of the rectory.

47. When swept away by the water, the gipsý maintained a fearful grip on Yvette’s what?

A. Hair
B. Wrist
C. Neck
D. Coat

B. Wrist.

The gipsy appears just in time to save Yvette, pulling her into the rectory as the flood hits.

48. Granny emerged into the hall from the dining-room door and was seen clawing with her hands as the first water swirled around what part of her body?

A. Her stomach
B. Her legs
C. Her head
D. Her arms

B. Her legs.

Granny, the symbol of the rectory’s corrupt power, is trapped downstairs and is the first to be hit by the flood.

49. What visible sign of Granny was briefly seen clinging to a banister rail before she disappeared into the upheaval of water?

A. Her silver hair
B. The glint of a wedding ring
C. Her cap
D. Her cane

B. The glint of a wedding ring.

The last image of Granny is her wedding ring, a symbol of the conventional life and power that is being washed away.

50. What caused the catastrophic flood?

A. A terrible storm
B. The bursting of the great reservoir up in Papple Highdale
C. The river overflowing naturally
D. An intentional sabotage

B. The bursting of the great reservoir up in Papple Highdale.

The flood is caused by a failure of a man-made structure, symbolizing the collapse of the industrial world.

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