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 Return of the Native MCQs

1. What is the vast, unenclosed wild tract of land called?

A. Egdon Heath
B. Quiet Woman
C. Anglebury Road
D. Blooms-End

A. Egdon Heath.
The novel opens on a Saturday afternoon, describing the vast, unenclosed wild tract known specifically as Egdon Heath.

2. What aspect of the heath made it appear like an instalment of night?

A. Its dark vegetation
B. Its high summits
C. Its frequent mists
D. Its ancient permanence

A. Its dark vegetation.
The earth was spread with the darkest vegetation, making the meeting-line with the sky clearly marked.

3. What sort of mood usually achieved intensity on the heath?

A. Solemnity
B. Gaiety
C. Joyfulness
D. Brilliant light

A. Solemnity.
Intensity was most commonly reached through the way of the solemn, especially during winter darkness or storms.

4. What type of geographical feature is Rainbarrow?

A. A tumulus
B. A deep valley
C. A water spring
D. A rocky summit

A. A tumulus.
Rainbarrow is identified as a large tumulus, a crown occupied by a pyramid of furze faggots.

5. What does the wind become to Egdon Heath during darkness and tempests?

A. Its friend
B. Its lover
C. Its master
D. Its enemy

A. It’s a friend.
During winter darkness, tempests, and mists, Egdon was aroused to reciprocity, and the wind became its friend.

6. What is the occupation of the traveler in the cart?

A. Reddleman
B. Furze-cutter
C. Engineer
D. Turf-cutter

A. Reddleman.
The traveler’s vocation was to supply farmers with redding for their sheep, making him a reddleman.

7. What kind of business did Wildeve use to be in, according to his brass plate?

A. Engineer
B. Dairyman
C. Diamond dealer
D. Innkeeper

A. Engineer.
The brass plate on the door of the Quiet Woman Inn bore the unexpected inscription, “Mr. Wildeve, Engineer”.

8. Who is the person who lives by making health brooms?

A. Olly Dowden
B. Susan Nunsuch
C. Thomasin Yeobright
D. Eustacia Vye

A. Olly Dowden.
Olly Dowden is explicitly named as the woman who lived by making heath brooms, or besoms.

9. Who is described as the man no woman will marry?

A. Christian Cantle
B. Grandfer Cantle
C. Timothy Fairway
D. Humphrey

A. Christian Cantle.
Christian Cantle reluctantly advanced after being called, revealing himself to be the man no woman would marry.

10. What is the reddleman’s name?

A. Diggory Venn
B. Damon Wildeve
C. Clym Yeobright
D. Timothy Fairway

A. Diggory Venn.
Mrs. Yeobright identifies the reddleman as “young Venn,” and later signs a letter as Diggory Venn.

11. Where did Thomasin and Wildeve originally intend to marry?

A. Anglebury
B. Budmouth
C. Blooms-End
D. Mistover Knap

A. Anglebury.
The marriage was planned for Anglebury, but the license was incorrectly made out for the location of Budmouth.

12. Why did the first marriage attempt fail?

A. License irregularity
B. Thomasin refused
C. Wildeve was late
D. Mrs. Yeobright stopped it

A. License irregularity.
The parson would not marry them because of a trifling irregularity found in the marriage license.

13. Where did Thomasin seek refuge immediately after the failed wedding?

A. Venn’s van
B. Quiet Woman Inn
C. Mrs. Yeobright’s house
D. Anglebury church

A. Venn’s van.
Thomasin fell into a faint after the license problem and was picked up and put inside Venn’s van.

14. Who had previously forbidden Thomasin and Wildeve’s banns?

A. Mrs. Yeobright
B. Captain Vye
C. Grandfer Cantle
D. The Parson

A. Mrs. Yeobright.
Timothy Fairway witnessed Mrs. Yeobright stand up in church and forbid the banns of marriage.

15. What reason did Mrs. Yeobright give for forbidding the banns?

A. Wildeve was unsuitable
B. Thomasin was too young
C. Clym was returning
D. She hated the heat

A. Wildeve was unsuitable.
Mrs. Yeobright felt strongly that Wildeve would not make Thomasin happy, thus leading her to forbid the banns.

16. Where does Eustacia Vye live?

A. Mistover Knap
B. Blooms-End
C. Quiet Woman Inn
D. Anglebury

A. Mistover Knap.
The fire that burned the enduring wood was located on the knap before the old captain’s house at Mistover.

17. Why did Eustacia light a bonfire on Rainbarrow?

A. Signal for Wildeve
B. Commemoration
C. Holiday tradition
D. To keep warm

A. Signal for Wildeve.
Wildeve recognized the fire as a signal, remembering Eustacia had lit a similar one last autumn for him.

18. Where was Eustacia Vye born?

A. Budmouth
B. Egdon Heath
C. Paris
D. Anglebury

A. Budmouth.
Budmouth, a fashionable seaside resort, is specifically named as Eustacia Vye’s native place.

19. What is Eustacia’s relationship to Captain Vye?

A. Granddaughter
B. Daughter
C. Niece
D. Wife

A. Granddaughter.
Fairway suggests the enduring fire must belong to Captain Vye’s granddaughter, Eustacia.

20. What specific feature of Eustacia Vye’s appearance is likened to nightfall?

A. Her hair
B. Her eyes
C. Her cloak
D. Her gown

A. Her hair.
Her hair closed over her forehead like nightfall extinguishing the western glow due to its darkness.

21. What proposal does Venn make to Eustacia to get her off the heath?

A. Companion to a lady
B. Teacher in Budmouth
C. Manager in Paris
D. Marriage to himself

A. Companion to a lady.
Venn offers Eustacia a post as a young company-keeper to read and sing to a rich, làme widow-lady near Budmouth.

22. Why did Venn approach Eustacia to talk about Wildeve?

A. To make her give up Wildeve
B. To confess his love
C. To warn her about Clym
D. To seek a marriage license

A. To make her give up Wildeve.
Venn wanted Eustacia to insist that Wildeve treat Thomasin honourably and relinquish the other woman (Eustacia).

23. Why did Thomasin reject Diggory Venn’s marriage proposal two years prior?

A. She loved Wildeve
B. Her aunt objected
C. She wanted Clym
D. She disliked his job

B. Her aunt objected.
Thomasin cited her aunt as a reason, saying Mrs. Yeobright wanted her to marry a professional man.

24. How did Venn know Eustacia was the woman meeting Wildeve?

A. He overheard them
B. Wildeve told him
C. Thomasin told him
D. He saw her fire

A. He overheard them.
Venn revealed he had been at the meeting by Rainbarrow the previous night and overheard every word spoken.

25. What did Eustacia promise Charley in exchange for his mummer’s costume?

A. Hold his hand
B. Five shillings
C. A quick kiss
D. A crooked sixpence

A. Hold his hand.
Charley requested a quarter of an hour of holding her hand, which Eustacia agreed to as payment.

26. From which city does Clym Yeobright return?

A. Paris
B. Budmouth
C. Anglebury
D. Kingsbere

A. Paris.
Clym Yeobright was coming home from Paris, which the captain called a “rookery of pomp and vanity”.

27. What was Clym’s original job in Paris?

A. Diamond establishment manager
B. Schoolmaster
C. Engineer
D. Military musician

A. Diamond establishment manager.
Mrs. Yeobright reminds him that he was manager of a large diamond establishment, a post of trust and respect.

28. What is Clym’s new chosen occupation in life on Egdon?

A. Schoolmaster
B. Diamond dealer
C. Furze-cutter
D. Innkeeper

A. Schoolmaster.
Clym decides to give up his Paris business and try to keep a school to teach the pòor and ignorant.

29. What literary figure is Clym Yeobright compared to due to his intellectual aims and plain living?

A. John the Baptist
B. Amerigo Vespucci
C. Aeneas
D. Apostle Paul

A. John the Baptist.
Clym is likened to John the Baptist because he took ennoblement rather than repentance for his text.

30. How do Eustacia and Clym’s feelings about Egdon Heath differ?

A. Clym loves it
B. Clym hates it
C. Eustacia loves it
D. They both love it

A. Clym loves it.
Clym was permeated with the heath and was glad, whereas Eustacia hated the heath, calling it her “cross”.

31. Where do the mummers rehearse their play?

A. Captain Vye’s fuelhouse
B. Quiet Woman Inn
C. Blooms-End parlor
D. Anglebury church

A. Captain Vye’s fuelhouse.
Captain Vye’s fuelhouse, described as roomy as a barn, was chosen as the location for the mummers’ rehearsals.

32. What character does Eustacia play in the mumming performance?

A. Turkish Knight
B. Saint George
C. Father Christmas
D. Valiant Soldier

A. Turkish Knight.
Eustacia arranged with Charley to take his place as the Turkish Knight for the performance at Blooms-End.

33. Who first recognizes Eustacia as the mummers’ Turkish Knight?

A. Clym Yeobright
B. Timothy Fairway
C. Grandfer Cantle
D. The Saracen

A. Clym Yeobright.
After Eustacia slipped out, Clym followed her and asked her directly if she was a woman.

34. Why did Eustacia say she participated in the mumming?

A. To get excitement
B. To see Clym
C. To annoy her aunt
D. To wear a disguise

A. To get excitement.
When Clym asked why she participated, Eustacia replied that it was “To get excitement and shake off depression”.

35. Why did the mummers have to wait outside Blooms-End before performing?

A. People were dancing
B. They were tuning instruments
C. Clym was sleeping
D. They were too early

A. People were dancing.
The door opened right onto the sitting-room where a dance, the “Devil’s Dream,” was enthusiastically in progress.

36. How much money did Mrs. Yeobright divide between Clym and Thomasin?

A. One hundred guineas
B. Fifty guineas
C. Eleven thousand pounds
D. Nine thousand pounds

A. One hundred guineas.
Mrs. Yeobright took a hoard of one hundred guineas and divided them into two separate heaps of fifty each.

37. Who was entrusted by Mrs. Yeobright to deliver the money to Mistover?

A. Christian Cantle
B. Timothy Fairway
C. Diggory Venn
D. Damon Wildeve

A. Christian Cantle.
Mrs. Yeobright gave the two moneybags to Christian Cantle, charging him to deliver them safely.

38. What did Christian do to Thomasin’s money before reaching Mistover?

A. Gambled it away
B. Hid it in his boot
C. Threw it in the fire
D. Lost it in the heat

A. Gambled it away.
Christian, driven by luck, recklessly gambled away Thomasin’s fifty guineas to Damon Wildeve.

39. Who won the second gamble, recovering all the guineas from Wildeve?

A. Diggory Venn
B. Clym Yeobright
C. Christian Cantle
D. Thomasin Wildeve

A. Diggory Venn.
Diggory Venn played Wildeve with grim determination and eventually accumulated 79 of the hundred guineas.

40. Who received the one hundred guineas from Diggory Venn?

A. Thomasin Wildeve
B. Clym Yeobright
C. Mrs. Yeobright
D. Eustacia Yeobright

A. Thomasin Wildeve.
Venn gave the parcel containing the one hundred guineas, mistakenly including Clym’s share, to Thomasin.

41. Why was Eustacia distressed by Clym’s studying after their marriage?

A. It contradicted her Paris dream
B. It strained his eyesight
C. He neglected her
D. She hated books

A. It contradicted her Paris dream.
Eustacia’s dream was to return to Paris, but Clym’s books indicated a future job that was antagonistic to that wish.

42. What illness struck Clym, interrupting his studying?

A. Ophthalmia
B. Exhaustion
C. Fever
D. Blindness

A. Ophthalmia.
The surgeon diagnosed his ailment as acute inflammation (ophthalmia) induced by Clym’s excessive night studies.

43. What work does Clym resort to after losing his sight?

A. Furze-cutting
B. Diamond trading
C. Dairying
D. Turf-cutting

A. Furze-cutting.
Clym decides that if he goes furze-cutting, he and Eustacia will be “fairly well off” despite his vision impairment.

44. Who does Eustacia meet at the gipsying/village picnic?

A. Damon Wildeve
B. Diggory Venn
C. Clym Yeobright
D. Captain Vye

A. Damon Wildeve.
While watching the dancing, Eustacia was surprised to hear her name whispered by Wildeve at her elbow.

45. What news does Captain Vye bring Eustacia that makes Wildeve suddenly interesting again?

A. Wildeve inherited a fortune
B. Clym was leaving Egdon
C. Thomasin was leaving Wildeve
D. Clym had recovered his sight

A. Wildeve inherited a fortune.
Captain Vye informed Eustacia that Wildeve’s uncle had died, making Wildeve the inheritor of eleven thousand pounds.

46. What prevents Mrs. Yeobright from entering Clym’s house before she dies?

A. The door was locked
B. Clym was sleeping
C. Eustacia refused her
D. Wildeve was present

A. The door was locked.
Eustacia had intentionally locked the door so Clym would not be disturbed while sleeping on the hearthrug.

47. What caused Mrs. Yeobright’s eventual death?

A. Physical exhaustion
B. Adder bite
C. Heartbreak
D. Ophthalmia

A. Physical exhaustion.
The surgeon confirmed that although she suffered from an adder bite, exhaustion was the main cause of her death.

48. Who was Eustacia attempting to elope with on the night of her death?

A. Damon Wildeve
B. Clym Yeobright
C. Diggory Venn
D. Captain Vye

A. Damon Wildeve.
Clym told Captain Vye that he believed Eustacia intended to elope with Wildeve that night.

49. Where did Eustacia and Wildeve drown?

A. Shadwater Weir pool
B. Oker’s Pool
C. Rimsmoor Pond
D. Blooms-End stream

A. Shadwater Weir pool.
Clym and Wildeve rushed to Shadwater Weir, where a body had fallen into the large circular pool.

50. What becomes Clym Yeobright’s final vocation?

A. Itinerant preacher
B. Dairyman
C. Schoolmaster
D. Furze-cutter

A. Itinerant preacher.
Clym finds his vocation as an itinerant open-air preacher and lecturer, delivering moral discourses from Rainbarrow.

Brief Overview

The Return of the Native was first published in 1878 by Thomas Hardy. The story is a profound tragedy driven by the characters’ desires and misunderstandings, set against the backdrop of Egdon Heath, which acts as a powerful, indifferent force of nature.

The novel begins on Egdon Heath, a dark, vast, and lonely place. Clym Yeobright, the native, returns home from Paris. He quits his rich job selling diamonds to become a poor schoolmaster, a choice that greatly upsets his mother, Mrs. Yeobright.

Clym falls in love with Eustacia Vye, a beautiful woman who hates the quiet heath and longs desperately for the excitement of Paris. Eustacia had an old love interest, Damon Wildeve, an innkeeper who marries Clym’s gentle cousin, Thomasin.

Clym and Eustacia marry, but Clym soon suffers eye problems and becomes a low-paid furze-cutter, making Eustacia deeply miserable. When Mrs. Yeobright tries to visit Clym, Eustacia locks the door, causing Mrs. Yeobright to die on the heath from an adder bite and exhaustion.

Clym learns that Eustacia shut his mother out and blames her for the death. Eustacia runs away. Wildeve, now rich, meets Eustacia, and she plans to flee with him to Budmouth.

That stormy night, both Eustacia and Wildeve drowned. Clym is overcome by sorrow. Later, Thomasin marries Diggory Venn, and Clym begins a new life as a wandering preacher.