Estimated Reading Time: 12 min
Before you begin the quiz, ensure you have a complete comprehension of the summary of The Woman Who Had Imagination by H.E. Bates.
The Woman Who Had Imagination MCQs
1. What is the name of the vehicle carrying the characters?
A. A green wagon
B. A yellow brake
C. A red omnibus
D. A blue coach
2. What is the name of the choir traveling to the competition?
A. The Triton Vocal Ensemble
B. The Hercules Glee Club
C. The Apollo Male Voice Singers
D. The Orpheus Male Voice Glee Singers
3. How old is Henry Solly at the beginning of the story?
A. Twenty-five
B. Thirty
C. Fifteen
D. Twenty
4. How does Henry initially feel about the trip?
A. Proud and bored, finding the gaiety “puerile and maddening”.
B. Joyful and excited
C. Enthusiastic and sociable
D. Indifferent and calm
5. What smells fill the air inside the vehicle?
A. Ocean air and salt
B. Fresh bread and coffee
C. Citrus and pine
D. Perfumes, cachous, hot horses, varnish, hair-oil, and stale herrings.
6. What is Henry’s father’s name and job?
A. Charles Solly, a conductor
B. Robert Solly, a tailor
C. Alfred Solly, a draper
D. Thomas Solly, a baker
7. How does Henry’s father practice music?
A. On an American organ in the back living-room.
B. On a grand piano
C. By singing acapella
D. With a violin
8. How long has Henry been working in his father’s shop?
A. Ten years
B. Five years
C. Two years
D. Seven years
9. What does Henry fear he will be doing in fifty years?
A. Still dusting and re-arranging items in the shop, his mind starved.
B. Traveling the world
C. Opening his own business
D. Becoming a renowned musician
10. What is Henry unable to do, despite his father’s encouragement?
A. Read music
B. Play an instrument
C. Write a song
D. Sing a single note correctly or in tune.
11. Who sits next to Henry after the first stop?
A. A tall scraggy man with a peg-leg and a girl dressed all in white.
B. His mother and father
C. The conductor and a school teacher
D. The fishmonger and the fat woman
12. What causes an argument among the passengers?
A. A fight over refreshments
B. A disagreement about the horses’ speed
C. A dispute over the choir’s song choices
D. A bet about an inscription on a tombstone.
13. What is the inscription on the tombstone?
A. “Rest in Peace”
B. “A Beloved Soul”
C. “Let wind go free where’er you lie: In chapel or in church. For wind it was the death of me”.
D. “Gone but Not Forgotten”
14. What are the first three songs the choir plans to sing?
A. “Danny Boy,” “Shenandoah,” “Auld Lang Syne”
B. “Calm was the Sea,” “On the Banks of Allan Water,” and “My love is Like a Red, Red Rose”.
C. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Joshua Fit the Battle,” “Deep River”
D. “Amazing Grace,” “Ave Maria,” “O Holy Night”
15. What does Henry’s father say is most important for the choir’s singing?
A. “Feeling” and “expression”.
B. Volume and speed
C. Pitch and rhythm
D. Perfect harmony
16. How does the house where the competition is held seem to Henry?
A. Small and quaint
B. Warm and inviting
C. Bright and lively
D. Cold and sepulchral.
17. Who greets the choir at the house?
A. A lady of the house
B. A head gardener
C. Antonio Serelli.
D. An English lord
18. What does Henry notice about the inside of the house?
A. It is magnificent but also decaying.
B. It is small and cozy.
C. It is new and freshly painted.
D. It is modern and brightly lit.
19. Whom does Henry meet in an upstairs room?
A. A group of servants
B. The house owner and his wife
C. Other choir members
D. An old man in a torn dressing-gown and a young woman reading to him.
20. What is distinctive about the young woman Henry meets?
A. Her bright red hair
B. Her “blackest eyes” and a voice with “mournful sweetness”.
C. Her blue eyes and cheerful laugh
D. Her short stature and timid demeanor
21. What does the woman tell the old man Henry is?
A. A lost guest
B. The “new gardener”.
C. A relative
D. A delivery man
22. What does the woman suggest Henry should go and see?
A. The lake.
B. The stables
C. The library
D. The rose garden
23. What does the fishmonger tell Henry about the lake?
A. It is full of fish and popular for fishing.
B. Antonio is “mad on singing” and forbids fishing there.
C. It is a good place for swimming.
D. Antonio encourages fishing in the lake.
24. What is the name of the girl who the fishmonger says “never came out”?
A. Angelica
B. Isabella
C. Sophia
D. Maddalena.
25. What color is the woman’s dress when Henry sees her by the lake?
A. White
B. Green
C. Yellow.
D. Blue
26. Why does the woman at the lake initially tell Henry to go away?
A. She was waiting for someone else.
B. She didn’t recognise him, and the lake is private.
C. It’s a dangerous area.
D. It’s a restricted area for staff only.
27. What is the woman’s emotional reaction after suggesting they go on the punt?
A. She becomes angry.
B. Her eyes fill with pain and she cries with dejection.
C. She laughs joyfully.
D. She becomes silent and walks away.
28. What excuse does the woman give for her tears?
A. Her brother would be angry if people were by the lake.
B. She was feeling unwell.
C. She was afraid of the dark.
D. She was upset about the choir‘s performance.
29. What does the fishmonger reveal about Maddalena and the old man?
A. They are a happy couple.
B. They are both musicians.
C. Maddalena looked at the old man with hatred, and he went “raving mad” with jealousy.
D. They are preparing to leave the house.
30. How does Antonio describe Maddalena?
A. She is shy.
B. She is a woman of great imagination.
C. She is often ill.
D. She is lovely.
Brief Overview
The Woman Who Had Imagination is a short story by H. E. Bates. It centers on a young man named Henry Solly. He is 20 years old and feels deeply bored and trapped in his dull life in a small English town.
Henry works in his father’s dreary shop, and he is full of restless energy. He is traveling with his father’s choir, the Orpheus Male Voice Glee Singers, to a competition. The slow journey makes Henry feel even more stuck with the people he finds childish.
At the competition’s location, a large, isolated country house, Henry wanders off alone. He explores the house and finds a strange room. Inside, he sees a mysterious young woman reading to an old man.
The woman, Maddalena, tells Henry to visit the lake. Henry is intensely drawn to her, seeing her as a sudden escape from his ordinary world. He finds her at the lake, but she seems troubled and anxious.
On the way home, a friend tells Henry more about the family. He reveals that the old man is Maddalena’s husband. The old man is deeply jealous and keeps her constantly in his sight. The old man also said that Maddalena “is a woman of great imagination.”
The fishmonger finds this idea very funny. The story ends with Henry still puzzled by the woman and the strange things he learned about her life. The journey finishes, but Henry’s internal search for meaning is unresolved.
