Thomas Hardy

Study question Thomas Hardy

Facts about Thomas Hardy

➾ Hardy was a healthy yet fragile child who showed unusual sensitivity to music and could read almost before walking.

➾ While apprenticed to an architect, Hardy intensely self-studied Greek daily between four and eight in the morning.

➾ His final architectural job, restoring a church in Cornwall, was how he met his first wife, Emma Lavinia Gifford.

➾ Hardy’s first published novel, Desperate Remedies, required him to advance £75, most of which was eventually returned.

➾ He stopped writing novels after the severe critical backlash and controversy caused by the publication of Jude the Obscure.

➾ Hardy often altered novels like Tess to soften his social satire and make them suitable for family readers during magazine serialization.

➾ He believed in ‘meliorism’ (gradual improvement of the world) until 1914, when the horrors of World War I shattered that view.

➾ Hardy’s love for architecture, music, and country folklore was fostered by the varied interests of his stonemason father and reading mother.

➾ Although his first marriage was unhappy, the death of his wife Emma in 1912 prompted him to write some of his most profound poetry.

➾ Hardy secretly wrote his own authorized autobiography, which was later published under the name of his second wife, Florence Dugdale.

➾ Hardy had a divided burial: his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey while his heart was buried separately at Stinsford near his ancestors.

Thomas Hardy MCQs

1. When was Thomas Hardy born?

A. January 11, 1928
B. September 2, 1840
C. June 2, 1840
D. June 22, 1840

C. June 2, 1840
He was born on this date in Dorset, England.

2. In what location was Thomas Hardy born?

A. Dorchester, Dorset
B. Stinsford, Dorset
C. Higher Bockhampton, Stinsford, Dorset
D. Max Gate, Dorchester

C. Higher Bockhampton, Stinsford, Dorset
He was born in England, in a small cottage in this hamlet, where his father lived.

3. What was the primary business of Thomas Hardy’s father?

A. Farming and agriculture
B. Stone masoning and building
C. Teaching and schooling
D. Church restoration

B. Stone masoning and building
Thomas Hardy Sr. was a master mason and local builder.

4. Hardy was sensitive to which art form, often playing the dance fiddle for his family?

A. Painting
B. Drama
C. Architecture
D. Music

D. Music
Music, particularly local folk music, was a lifelong passion and influence on his writing.

5. Which ancient language did Hardy begin studying at the age of twelve?

A. Greek
B. French
C. Latin
D. German

C. Latin
He began the study of Latin at age twelve.

6. At what age did Hardy become a student of the architect John Hicks?

A. Twelve
B. Sixteen
C. Eighteen
D. Twenty-two

B. Sixteen
He began his apprenticeship in architecture under Hicks in Dorchester in 1856.

7. How did Hardy pursue his Greek studies while apprenticed to Hicks?

A. By attending night classes in Dorchester.
B. By receiving tutoring from John Hicks.
C. By studying between four and eight in the morning.
D. By reading books supplied by George Meredith.

C. By studying between four and eight in the morning.
This commitment to self-education highlights his early intellectual ambition.

8. Which Dorset poet, who kept a school next to Hicks’ office, influenced Hardy?

A. George Meredith
B. Horace Moule
C. Arthur Blomfield
D. The Reverend William Barnes

D. The Reverend William Barnes
Barnes, known for his dialect poetry, encouraged Hardy’s literary interests.

9. In what year did Hardy go to London to work for the architect Arthur Blomfield?

A. 1856
B. 1862
C. 1867
D. 1870

B. 1862
He moved to London to further his architectural career.

10. In what year did ill health force Hardy to leave London and return to Dorchester?

A. 1865
B. 1867
C. 1870
D. 1874

B. 1867
London life proved detrimental to his health, forcing him back to Dorset.

11. What was the title of Hardy’s first novel, which was rejected by publishers?

A. Desperate Remedies
B. Under the Greenwood Tree
C. The Poor Man and the Lady
D. A Pair of Blue Eyes

C. The Poor Man and the Lady
This novel, never published, dealt with social class and romantic ambition.

12. Which critic advised Hardy regarding his first rejected novel?

A. Horace Moule
B. Arthur Blomfield
C. George Meredith
D. The Reverend William Barnes

C. George Meredith
Meredith, working as a reader for Chapman and Hall, recommended Hardy abandon the book but try again.

13. Where did Hardy meet his first wife, Emma, while on a restoration job?

A. Higher Bockhampton
B. Weymouth
C. St. Juliot in Cornwall
D. Max Gate

C. St. Juliot in Cornwall
He met Emma Gifford in 1870 while surveying the restoration of a church there.

14. In what year did Thomas Hardy marry Emma Lavinia Gifford?

A. 1870
B. 1871
C. 1874
D. 1878

C. 1874
They married in London, coinciding with the success of Far From the Madding Crowd.

15. What was the title of Hardy’s first published novel in 1871?

A. Under the Greenwood Tree
B. Desperate Remedies
C. The Return of the Native
D. Far From the Madding Crowd

B. Desperate Remedies
This complex melodrama was his first novel to reach publication.

16. Which 1872 novel was Hardy’s first popular success?

A. A Pair of Blue Eyes
B. The Poor Man and the Lady
C. Under the Greenwood Tree
D. Tess of the d’Urbervilles

C. Under the Greenwood Tree
This gentle novel was his second published work and proved popular with critics and readers.

17. Which 1874 novel’s success allowed Hardy to give up architecture?

A. Desperate Remedies
B. The Mayor of Casterbridge
C. Far From the Madding Crowd
D. The Woodlanders

C. Far From the Madding Crowd
Its serialization in the Cornhill Magazine and subsequent popularity allowed him to dedicate himself entirely to writing.

18. For how many years did Hardy primarily concentrate on writing fiction?

A. Five years
B. Ten years
C. Fifteen years
D. Twenty years

D. Twenty years
He concentrated primarily on writing novels from 1870 until 1891 (Tess) and 1895 (Jude).

19. What fictional region did Hardy create for his novels?

A. Casterbridge
B. Stinsford
C. Wessex
D. Egdon Heath

C. Wessex
He named his fictionalized version of Dorset and the surrounding counties “Wessex,” drawing on Anglo-Saxon history.

20. Which 1878 novel was admired for its setting of Egdon Heath?

A. The Woodlanders
B. A Laodicean
C. The Return of the Native
D. Two on a Tower

C. The Return of the Native
Egdon Heath, the desolate, ancient landscape, functions almost as a character in this novel.

21. What was the name of the house Hardy built near Dorchester?

A. Stinsford Cottage
B. Egdon Hall
C. Max Gate
D. Casterbridge Manor

C. Max Gate
He designed and built this home where he lived for the rest of his life.

22. Which novel, set in a fictionalized Dorchester, features Michael Henchard?

A. The Return of the Native
B. The Woodlanders
C. The Mayor of Casterbridge
D. A Pair of Blue Eyes

C. The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) centers on the tragic rise and fall of the self-made Michael Henchard in the town of Casterbridge (Dorchester).

23. In what year did Tess of the d’Urbervilles begin its serial run?

A. 1889
B. 1891
C. 1894
D. 1897

B. 1891
It was serialized with modifications due to the controversial content.

24. Which novel’s controversy caused Hardy to abandon novel writing?

A. Tess of the d’Urbervilles
B. Far From the Madding Crowd
C. The Well Beloved
D. Jude the Obscure

D. Jude the Obscure
The vicious public outcry and moral outrage following the publication of Jude the Obscure (1895) led him to stop writing novels entirely.

25. What was the title of Hardy’s last novel, published in 1897?

A. Jude the Obscure
B. The Well Beloved
C. Tess of the d’Urbervilles
D. The Woodlanders

B. The Well Beloved
Although Jude the Obscure (1895) was his last major novel, The Well-Beloved was his final published novel.

26. What was the title of Hardy’s first volume of poetry, published in 1898?

A. Late Lyrics and Earlier
B. Winter Words
C. Wessex Poems
D. Satires of Circumstance

C. Wessex Poems
This collection, published after he abandoned fiction, marked his full-time return to poetry.

27. What was the title of his three-part epic verse drama on the Napoleonic Wars?

A. Winter Words
B. The Dynasts
C. Poems of 1912–13
D. Wessex Tales

B. The Dynasts
This monumental work (1903–08) is a blend of poetry and drama.

28. What major honour did the King award Hardy in 1910?

A. Knight Commander of the Bath
B. Poet Laureate
C. The Order of Merit
D. The Nobel Prize in Literature

C. The Order of Merit
King George V appointed him to the Order of Merit, a high civilian honour.

29. When did Hardy’s first wife, Emma, die?

A. 1910
B. 1912
C. 1914
D. 1928

B. 1912
Emma died suddenly in November 1912, inspiring his most poignant love poems (Poems of 1912–13).

30. Whom did Hardy marry in 1914?

A. Jemima Hand
B. Florence Emily Dugdale
C. Grace Melbury
D. Eustacia Vye

B. Florence Emily Dugdale
He married his secretary, Florence Dugdale, in 1914.

31. What was the title of Hardy’s final volume of verse?

A. Late Lyrics and Earlier
B. Human Shows
C. Winter Words
D. Moments of Vision

C. Winter Words
This final collection was published in 1928, the year of his death.

32. On what date did Thomas Hardy die?

A. June 2, 1840
B. January 11, 1928
C. September 4, 1874
D. December 31, 1927

B. January 11, 1928
He died on this date at Max Gate.

33. Where were Hardy’s cremated remains interred?

A. Max Gate, Dorchester
B. Stinsford Churchyard
C. Westminster Abbey, Poets’ Corner
D. St. Juliot, Cornwall

C. Westminster Abbey, Poets’ Corner
His ashes were interred in Poets’ Corner, a high honour.

34. Where was Hardy’s heart buried?

A. Max Gate, Dorchester
B. Stinsford, near the graves of his ancestors
C. Poets’ Corner
D. St. Juliot in Cornwall

B. Stinsford, near the graves of his ancestors
His heart was removed and buried separately in the churchyard where he had played the fiddle as a young man.

35. Hardy published his novels in serial form, similar to which other English novelist?

A. Scott
B. Dumas
C. Dickens
D. Keats

C. Dickens
Like Charles Dickens, Hardy serialized many of his novels in monthly or weekly magazines.

36. Which collection was the first that Hardy released?

A. Life’s Little Ironies
B. A Changed Man
C. A Group of Noble Dames
D. Wessex Tales

D. Wessex Tales
This collection of short stories was published in 1888.

37. His mother inspired a taste for literature, while his father shared a love of architecture and what?

A. Science
B. Philosophy
C. Music
D. Theology

C. Music
Both parents fostered his cultural interests.

38. Darwinian evolutionism eventually made Hardy what?

A. A Meliorist
B. A severe critic of traditional religion/An agnostic
C. A fatalist
D. A church restorer

B. A severe critic of traditional religion/An agnostic
Scientific theories contributed to his loss of faith in a beneficent God.

39. Hardy lived during the industrial revolution, which led to the disintegration of what?

A. The British empire
B. The family building business
C. Rural customs and traditions
D. The London architectural scene

C. Rural customs and traditions
His novels often lament the passing of the traditional agricultural way of life.

40. The period of changing beliefs in Hardy’s time brought about what feeling?

A. The joy of modernism
B. The ‘ache of modernism’
C. The pursuit of happiness
D. The Immanent Will

B. The ‘ache of modernism’
He coined this phrase to describe the spiritual and existential pain resulting from the erosion of old beliefs.

41. Hardy read Darwin’s Origin of the Species and what other document that influenced his religious views?

A. The Dynasts
B. Wessex Poems
C. Essays and Reviews
D. A Changed Man

C. Essays and Reviews
This publication of liberal theology further challenged traditional Christian doctrines.

42. Hardy struggled to reconcile a beneficent God with the existence of what?

A. The inevitability of war
B. Omnipresent evil and unhappiness
C. The shifting of population
D. The success of his own novels

B. Omnipresent evil and unhappiness
The problem of suffering became central to his philosophical outlook.

43. Until 1914, Hardy considered himself a “meliorist,” believing that what was happening?

A. The universal scheme was unchanging.
B. The universe was completely governed by Fate.
C. The universal scheme was gradually improving.
D. Only poetry could capture human suffering.

C. The universal scheme was gradually improving.
Meliorism is the belief that the world can be made better through human effort.

44. What event shattered Hardy’s belief in meliorism in 1914?

A. The death of his first wife
B. The reaction to Jude the Obscure
C. The absurdity and horror of war
D. The publication of The Dynasts

C. The absurdity and horror of war
The outbreak of World War I made the idea of gradual moral improvement seem impossible.

45. What philosophical outlook is most readily associated with Hardy the novelist?

A. Meliorism
B. Naturalism
C. Romanticism
D. Fatalism

D. Fatalism
Although he considered himself a meliorist, his novels’ pervasive sense of doomed protagonists and tragic coincidence leads critics to label his work as fatalistic.

46. In Hardy’s philosophy, what motif is placed with tremendous importance?

A. Love
B. Nature
C. Time
D. Night

C. Time
His works often focus on the corrosive effects of the past and the relentlessness of time.

47. In Hardy’s philosophy, who is Fate’s most potent instrument against Man’s happiness?

A. The Wessex rustic
B. The Critic
C. Woman
D. The Deity

C. Woman
Hardy’s perception of women (e.g., Sue Bridehead, Tess) as unpredictable and often destructive forces is a recurring idea.

48. Hardy critiques ‘Convention and Law’ because they are contrived by whom, yet work against him?

A. Cruel Nature
B. The Immanent Will
C. Man himself
D. The established Church

C. Man himself
He argues that rigid social laws created by humanity often cause unnecessary suffering to the individuals they are meant to govern.

49. Hardy suggests that most of Tess’s misery was generated by her conventional aspect, and not by what?

A. Angel Clare’s judgment
B. Her innate sensations
C. Alec’s evil intentions
D. The agricultural life

B. Her innate sensations
He frames Tess as a pure woman whose suffering is caused by the cruel social conventions and judgments of others.

50. In The Dynasts, Hardy projects a universe governed by a blind force called what?

A. Fate
B. The Spirit of the Years
C. The Immanent Will
D. The Wessex destiny

C. The Immanent Will
This term refers to the unconscious, indifferent cosmic force that drives the universe, often resulting in human suffering.

The Mayor of Casterbridge MCQs

1. What profession does the young man Michael Henchard practice at the novel’s beginning?

A. Skilled countryman
B. General labourer
C. Hay-trusser
D. Corn factor

C. Hay-trusser.
He carried tools like a hay-knife and wimble, confirming he worked in the fodder business.

2. What is the man and woman’s relationship suggested to be by their behaviour?

A. Passionate love
B. Stale familiarity
C. Silent hatred
D. Close companionship

B. Stale familiarity.
The atmosphere of stale familiarity indicated they were likely husbànd and wife and parents of the child.

3. What is the name of the large village they are approaching?

A. Weydon-Priors
B. Casterbridge
C. Upper Wessex
D. Budmouth Road

A. Weydon-Priors.
The couple was traveling toward the large village of Weydon-Priors in Upper Wessex on foot.

4. What event is taking place in the village when they arrive?

A. Fair Day
B. Election meeting
C. Market Saturday
D. Great public dinner

A. Fair Day.
They were approaching Weydon-Priors during its annual Fair Day, which brought a large crowd.

5. What mixture does the woman ask her husband to order at the booth?

A. Hot slop
B. Corn in grain
C. Furmity mixture
D. Raisins and currants

C. Furmity mixture.
The woman, who was Henchard’s wife, requested the nourishing mixture called furmity for them to eat.

6. What liquor does the haggish vendor secretly add to the man’s bowl?

A. Rum liquor
B. Strong spirits
C. Home-brewed ale
D. Licensed liquor

A. Rum liquor.
The presiding woman secretly measured and tipped rum from a bottle into the hay-trusser’s bowl of furmity.

7. What is the first name of the little girl carried by the woman?

A. Susan
B. Elizabeth-Jane
C. Nance Mockridge
D. Mother Cuxsom

B. Elizabeth-Jane.
The woman whispered to the child, a tiny girl in blue boots, whose name was Elizabeth-Jane.

8. What quantity of money does Michael Henchard claim to have in the world?

A. Five guineas
B. Fifteen shillings
C. A thousand pounds
D. Two guineas

B. Fifteen shillings.
Michael Henchard loudly declared to the company that he did not have more than fifteen shillings total.

9. What sum did Henchard ultimately sell his wife and child for?

A. A guinea
B. Three shillings
C. Five guineas
D. Fifty times the money

C. Five guineas.
Henchard determined he would not sell his wife and child for less than five guineas to a buyer.

10. Who purchases Henchard’s wife and child at the auction?

A. A smoking gentleman
B. The auctioneer
C. A sailor
D. A staylace dealer

C. A sailor.
A sailor standing in the doorway affirmed the final bid of five guineas and produced the money.

11. What object did the woman fling at Henchard as she departed?

A. A furmity basin
B. Her straw hat
C. Wedding-ring
D. Bank-of-England notes

C. Wedding-ring.
Upon leaving the tent with the sailor, the woman pulled off her wedding ring and flung it at Henchard.

12. What time period did Michael Henchard swear to avoid strong liquors?

A. Twenty-one years
B. Seven years
C. Two years
D. All his life

A. Twenty-one years.
Michael Henchard swore an oath before God to avoid all strong liquors for 21 years, matching his age.

13. Where does Michael Henchard take this solemn oath?

A. The furmity tent
B. In a church
C. On the open down
D. At the Three Mariners

B. In a church.
Henchard sought out a fit place and imagery, kneeling and swearing his oath upon a book in a church.

14. How did Michael Henchard primarily spend the sailor’s money after the fair?

A. Buying tools
B. Drinking rum
C. Gambling
D. Search for them

D. Search for them.
Henchard decided to spend the sailor’s money on the dedicated prosecution of his search for his family.

15. To which distant town does Henchard decide to go and settle?

A. Casterbridge
B. Bristol
C. Upper Wessex
D. Budmouth

A. Casterbridge.
After failing in his search, Henchard started southwestward and journeyed until he reached Casterbridge in Wessex.

16. What name did Susan Henchard use while traveling with Elizabeth-Jane?

A. Mrs. Henchard
B. Elizabeth Newson
C. Miss Templeman
D. Mrs. Newson

D. Mrs. Newson.
After the death of the sailor, Susan called herself Mrs. Newson while looking for Michael Henchard.

17. What object was Elizabeth-Jane looking at in her pocket?

A. A bank-note
B. A black-edged card
C. A love letter
D. Her twine nets

B. A black-edged card.
Elizabeth-Jane drew a black-edged card from her pocket, inscribed in memory of Richard Newson, mariner.

18. Who did Elizabeth-Jane believe her father to be?

A. Michael Henchard
B. Donald Farfrae
C. Richard Newson
D. Joshua Jopp

C. Richard Newson.
Elizabeth-Jane grew up believing that the sailor Richard Newson, who died at sea, was her actual father.

19. Who did Mrs. Newson and Elizabeth-Jane encounter running a miserable stall at the fair?

A. Furmity woman
B. Staylace dealer
C. Mother Cuxsom
D. Nance Mockridge

A. Furmity woman.
The trio found the haggard, wrinkled, almost ragged former mistress of the furmity tent selling thin slop.

20. What location did the furmity woman recall Henchard mentioning as his destination?

A. Budmouth
B. Weydon Priors
C. Casterbridge
D. Durnover Moor

C. Casterbridge.
The furmity woman remembered Henchard telling her, years ago, that he had gone to Casterbridge.

21. What was the characteristic of Casterbridge that most struck Elizabeth-Jane?

A. Its compact nature
B. Its squareness
C. Its tree-stockade
D. Its antiquity

B. Its squareness.
Casterbridge appeared compact as a box of dominoes, its squareness being its most striking visual characteristic.

22. Who was the current Mayor of Casterbridge when Elizabeth-Jane arrived?

A. Mr. Jopp
B. Mr. Farfrae
C. Mr. Henchard
D. Mr. Newson

C. Mr. Henchard.
An old man outside the inn informed Elizabeth-Jane that Mr. Henchard, their relative, was the Mayor.

23. What was Henchard drinking at the public dinner, despite the wine glasses?

A. Port
B. Sherry
C. Home-brewed
D. Large quantities of water

D. Large quantities of water.
The Mayor drank profusely from a tumbler of water, adhering to his oath, ignoring the wine and spirits.

24. How much longer did Henchard’s oath against strong liquor have left?

A. Another two years
B. One calendar year
C. Twenty-one days
D. Four-and-twenty months

A. Another two years.
Solomon Longways reported that Henchard’s great gospel oath had exactly two calendar years left to run.

25. What problem was Henchard facing that was discussed at the public dinner?

A. Bad corn
B. Theft of hams
C. Poor wheat yield
D. Hay trussing trouble

A. Bad corn.
Henchard was being criticized publicly because he had supplied the millers and bakers with growed wheat.

26. What was Henchard looking for to help manage his large business?

A. New technology
B. A thorough good man
C. Legal advice
D. More capital

B. A thoroughly good man.
Henchard stated that he had advertised for a thoroughly good man to manage his corn department, due to mistakes.

27. What kind of accent did the young stranger who sent the note possess?

A. Harsh and strong
B. Quaint and northerly
C. Mincing and low
D. Refined and gentle

B. Quaint and northerly.
Elizabeth-Jane noticed that the young stranger, who was Scottish, spoke with a quaint and northerly accent.

28. Where did the young Scotchman say he was planning to travel?

A. Back to Edinboro’
B. To London
C. To the other side
D. To Casterbridge

C. To the other side.
The Scotchman, Donald Farfrae, said he was traveling to the other side of the world to try his fortune.

29. What was the stranger’s name?

A. Joshua Jopp
B. Donald Farfrae
C. Solomon Longways
D. Christopher Coney

B. Donald Farfrae.
The young man who sent the note and solved the bad corn problem was Donald Farfrae, a Scot.

30. What was Donald Farfrae’s solution for renovating the bad corn?

A. Drying and refrigerating
B. Chemical treatment
C. Simple cleaning
D. Milling and baking

A. Drying and refrigerating.
Farfrae’s process involved drying and refrigerating the corn, restoring it enough to make good seconds.

31. Why did Henchard want Farfrae to stay in Casterbridge?

A. For his brains and judgment
B. To annoy his rivals
C. To manage the hay
D. To learn science

A. For his brains and judgment.
Henchard admitted that he was bad at science and figures, needing Farfrae’s judgment and knowledge.

32. What kind of song did Donald Farfrae sing that captivated the crowd?

A. A ditty about home
B. A rantipole rubbish
C. A hunting song
D. A sad ballad

A. A ditty about home.
Farfrae sang “It’s hame, and it’s hame,” a pathetic melody about longing for his own country.

33. What did the sight of Farfrae make Elizabeth-Jane realize about life?

A. It was comical
B. It was a happy game
C. It was beautiful
D. It was tragic

D. It was tragic.
Elizabeth-Jane felt Farfrae viewed life as tragic rather than comical, which mirrored her own feelings.

34. What words were painted on the wagons entering Casterbridge?

A. Hay-trusser
B. Corn merchant
C. Henchard, corn-factor
D. Farfrae, hay

C. Henchard, corn-factor.
Elizabeth-Jane and her mother saw five large wagons laden with hay bearing Henchard’s business name.

35. Where did Elizabeth-Jane find Donald Farfrae in Henchard’s office?

A. Sitting at the desk
B. Over sample bags
C. Talking to Jopp
D. Counting receipts

B. Over sample bags.
Elizabeth-Jane discovered Farfrae bending over sample bags, appearing to rule the office permanently.

36. Who arrived moments after Elizabeth-Jane to seek the manager position?

A. Richard Newson
B. Joshua Jopp
C. Alderman Vatt
D. Christopher Coney

B. Joshua Jopp.
Joshua Jopp, the man Henchard had previously intended to hire, came forward claiming the appointment.

37. Where was the secret meeting arranged between Michael and Susan?

A. The Ring
B. The King’s Arms
C. High-Place Hall
D. The Three Mariners

A. The Ring.
Henchard instructed Susan to meet him at eight o’clock at the Ring, a Roman Amphitheatre on the Budmouth road.

38. What historical fact was associated with Casterbridge’s Amphitheatre?

A. Gladiatorial combat
B. Gallows stood there
C. A great stadium
D. Roman bathing spot

B. Gallows stood there.
Apart from games, the Amphitheatre’s history included being the site where the town-gallows had once stood.

39. What name did Henchard propose Susan use when they returned to Casterbridge?

A. Miss Henchard
B. Mrs. Michael
C. Mrs. Newson
D. Mrs. Templeman

C. Mrs. Newson.
Henchard proposed that Susan and Elizabeth-Jane take a cottage using the name Mrs. Newson to conceal their past.

40. What was the major sin Michael confessed to Donald Farfrae about a “second woman”?

A. Planned to marry her
B. Stealing her money
C. Wasting her time
D. Forcing her away

A. Planned to marry her.
Henchard told Farfrae that he had intended to marry a young lady in Jersey after his wife was presumed dead.

41. What name did the choir in the Three Mariners call Mrs. Henchard by?

A. The Witch
B. The Ghost
C. The Lady
D. The Shadow

B. The Ghost.
Mrs. Henchard was so pale that, after her marriage to Michael, boys often referred to her as “The Ghost.”

42. What did the dying Susan Henchard instruct be done with a sealed letter?

A. Burn it unread
B. Send it to Newson
C. Open on wedding day
D. Give it to the church

C. Open on the wedding day.
Susan sealed a letter addressed to Michael Henchard, instructing it not to be opened until Elizabeth-Jane’s wedding day.

43. What crucial information did Susan’s letter reveal to Michael?

A. She hated him
B. Elizabeth-Jane died
C. She loved Newson
D. She kept their secret

B. Elizabeth-Jane died.
Susan confessed that the original Elizabeth-Jane died three months after the sale, and the current girl was Newson’s.

44. What was the name Lucetta had used when she was involved with Henchard in Jersey?

A. Miss Templeman
B. Miss Le Sueur
C. Miss Newson
D. Mrs. Goodenough

B. Miss Le Sueur.
Henchard had known Lucetta under the name Miss Le Sueur when they were intimate in Jersey years ago.

45. What did Henchard criticize Elizabeth-Jane for using in her speech?

A. Rural sayings
B. Dialect words
C. Modern phrases
D. Latin words

B. Dialect words.
Henchard sharply reprimanded Elizabeth-Jane for her use of dialect words, considering them marks of the beast.

46. What kind of implement arrived in the market, causing a sensation?

A. A new wagon
B. A horse drill
C. A threshing machine
D. An agricultural piano

B. A horse drill.
A new-fashioned agricultural machine called a horse-drill arrived, creating a large sensation in the town.

47. Who revealed Henchard’s past wife-selling to the magistrates’ court?

A. Nance Mockridge
B. Joshua Jopp
C. Furmity woman
D. Solomon Longways

C. Furmity woman.
The old furmity-woman, standing accused, revealed in court that Henchard sold his wife 20 years ago.

48. What act of Henchard’s led to Lucetta’s final distress and eventual death?

A. Reading her letters
B. Challenging Farfrae
C. Selling bad corn
D. Insisting on marriage

A. Reading her letters.
Henchard’s act of reading Lucetta’s intimate Jersey letters aloud to Farfrae spurred the skimmington-ride.

49. When Newson returned and found Henchard, what lie did Henchard tell him?

A. Elizabeth-Jane died
B. Susan hated him
C. He was rich
D. Farfrae was bankrupt

A. Elizabeth-Jane died.
Henchard, fearing the loss of Elizabeth-Jane, told Newson that his daughter had died a year ago and more.

50. What was the final item in Michael Henchard’s written will?

A. No funeral flowers
B. Be buried quickly
C. No man remembers me
D. Not in consecrated ground

C. No man remembers me.
Henchard’s will concluded with the bitter instruction: “That no man remember me,” reflecting his deep despair.

Brief Overview

The Mayor of Casterbridge is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1886. The novel is a profound tragedy that examines the role of character and fate in determining human destiny, showing how a single past mistake can return to ruin a man’s life.

The story begins with Michael Henchard, a hay-trusser. While drunk on rum-laced furmity at a fair, he sells his wife, Susan, and daughter for five guineas. Henchard instantly regrets this action and swears a solemn oath to avoid strong drink for twenty-one years.

Years later, Henchard has become the wealthy and powerful Mayor of Casterbridge. Susan returns with her grown daughter, Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard, keeping his past secret, remarries Susan. He hires a skilled Scotsman, Donald Farfrae, as his business manager.

Henchard grows fiercely jealous of Farfrae’s success and popularity, eventually dismissing him. Farfrae then marries Lucetta Templeman, a woman Henchard had known from his past.

Henchard loses his business and money. His past actions are publicly revealed. Lucetta tragically dies after being mocked in the town. Henchard discovers Elizabeth-Jane is not his true daughter. When her real father, Newson, returns, Henchard lies, claiming Elizabeth-Jane is dead.

Elizabeth-Jane marries Farfrae. Learning of Henchard’s final betrayal, she rejects him. Henchard leaves Casterbridge, poor and alone. He dies completely abandoned, asking in his final will that he be forgotten entirely.