Two on a Tower MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature
Updated on: November 13, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Two on a Tower MCQs

1. Where does the story begin, as the lady’s carriage comes to a pause?

A. On a Wessex hill
B. Near a deep forest
C. In a busy town
D. Beside a river

A. On a Wessex hill.
The novel opens on an early winter afternoon on the crest of a hill located in the region of Wessex.

2. What is the approximate age of the lady in the carriage?

A. Forty years old
B. Nine-and-twenty
C. Eighteen years old
D. Sixty-two years

B. Nine-and-twenty.
The lady in the carriage, who is the occupant, is described as being about eight- or nine-and-twenty.

3. What object dominates the central landscape viewed by the lady?

A. A winding road
B. A tower column
C. A vast manor
D. A winding river

B. A tower column.
A circular, pine-clad hill with a classical column on its summit is the central feature seen.

4. What is the name of the lady’s residence?

A. The Manor Gate
B. Rings-Hill Speer
C. Welland House
D. Melchester Road

C. Welland House.
The lady’s residence, from where she often surveyed the tower, is identified as Welland House.
5. Why was the column built in the last century?

A. For astronomy
B. War memorial
C. For scenic view
D. For meditation

B. War memorial.
The column was erected as a memorial to the great-grandfather of the lady’s husband who fell in the American war.

6. In what architectural style was the column built?

A. Corinthian order
B. Tuscan order
C. Ionic style
D. Saxon design

B. Tuscan order.
The column is described as being built in the Tuscan order of classic architecture.

7. What was the state of the door leading into the tower on the lady’s first visit?

A. Solidly locked
B. Heavily bolted
C. Not fastened
D. Recently painted

C. Not fastened.
The door to the column was not fastened, allowing the lady to push it open with her foot.

8. What was the youth doing on the summit of the column?

A. Drawing scenery
B. Sitting on a stool
C. Reading a book
D. Singing hymns

B. Sitting on a stool.
The youth was sitting on a stool with his eye applied to a large telescope that stood before him.

9. What colour was Lady Constantine’s hair?

A. Flaxen yellow
B. Black as midnight
C. Bright auburn
D. Curly and light

B. Black as midnight.
Lady Constantine is described as having hair that was black as midnight and eyes of no less deep a shade.
10. What catastrophe did the youth first murmur that he observed through the telescope?

A. A lunar eclipse
B. A comet passing
C. A cyclone in the sun
D. A meteor shower

C. A cyclone in the sun.
When Lady Constantine asked what he saw, the youth murmured that he observed a cyclone in the sun.

11. What is the column’s local name?

A. Constantine’s Spire
B. Rings-Hill Speer
C. Melchester Point
D. The Great Stand

B. Rings-Hill Speer.
The column, which the youth has entirely taken possession of, is locally called Rings-Hill Speer.

12. What major role does Swithin aspire to achieve?

A. Royal Society member
B. Astronomy teacher
C. Observatory curator
D. Astronomer Royal

D. Astronomer Royal.
Swithin aims at achieving the dignity and office of Astronomer Royal, if he lives.

13. Swithin’s great work focuses primarily on what type of celestial body?

A. Comet analysis
B. Variable stars
C. Planet orbits
D. Fixed nebulae

B. Variable stars.
Swithin studies from seven or eight till about two in the morning for his great work on variable stars.

14. What is the occupation of the labouring man, Haymoss Fry?

A. Parish clerk
B. Barley driller
C. Coachman
D. Building steward

B. Barley driller.
Lady Constantine’s informant, Haymoss Fry, is described as a homely barley driller.
15. Who is Swithin’s maternal grandfather?

A. Pa’son St Cleeve
B. Giles Martin
C. Sammy Blore
D. Mr Torkingham

B. Giles Martin.
Swithin’s mother was Farmer Martin’s daughter, making Giles Martin his maternal grandfather.

16. What was Swithin’s father’s original profession?

A. A well-known lawyer
B. The parish curate
C. A popular doctor
D. A wealthy farmer

B. The parish curate.
Swithin’s father, Pa’son St Cleeve, was the curate in the village for a long time.

17. What did Swithin’s father do after marrying Farmer Martin’s daughter?

A. Went abroad
B. Started farming
C. Became a scholar
D. Moved to London

B. Started farming.
After marrying a homespun woman, Pa’son St Cleeve gave up his living and took to farming.

18. Where did Mr Torkingham hold the choir practice that evening?

A. Welland Steeple
B. The Great House
C. Mrs Martin’s house
D. The parish church

C. Mrs Martin’s house.
Mr Torkingham arranged to meet some of the choir at Mrs Martin’s house for practice because his own house was too far.

19. Who regularly reads books to Lady Constantine?

A. Mrs Martin
B. Hannah the maid
C. Miss Tabitha Lark
D. Nat Chapman

C. Miss Tabitha Lark.
Miss Tabitha Lark visits the Great House to read to Lady Constantine, who struggles with listlessness.
20. How long had Sir Blount Constantine been absent in Africa?

A. Seven months only
B. Two years and more
C. Just three weeks
D. Nearly six years

B. Two years and more.
Sir Blount went to Africa three St Martin’s days back, meaning he has been gone for two years and more.

21. What did Sir Blount call his scheme of lion-hunting in Africa?

A. Geographical discovery
B. Trading spices
C. Missionary work
D. Visiting Cairo

A. Geographical discovery.
Sir Blount Constantine had a “mania for African lion-hunting, which he dignified by calling it a scheme of geographical discovery”.

22. What did Lady Constantine vow to do during her husband’s absence?

A. Travel the world
B. Live like a nun
C. Write a memoir
D. Study at college

B. Live like a nun.
In indignation at her husband’s low opinion, she volunteered to live like a cloistered nun during his absence.

23. Why did Mr Torkingham advise Lady Constantine to keep her vow?

A. It was compelled
B. She proposed it
C. It was a necessity
D. He was proud

B. She proposed it.
The parson advised her to keep the vow because she had proposed it in a supererogatory spirit.

24. What was the real reason Lady Constantine visited Swithin at night?

A. To see Jupiter
B. A personal matter
C. To observe Saturn
D. Curiosity about Swithin

B. A personal matter.
Lady Constantine confessed that the stars were just an excuse; she came to see Swithin about a personal matter.
25. What did Swithin call the universe, contrasting it with the imaginary sky?

A. A grand panorama
B. A pleasant sight
C. A horror
D. An endless beauty

C. A horror.
Swithin stated that the imaginary picture of the sky is grand, but the actual sky is a horror.

26. Why did Swithin refuse to leave immediately for London on the lady’s errand?

A. He disliked London
B. Watching a star
C. Feared theft
D. He had no money

B. Watching a star.
He refused to leave because he needed to watch a variable star whose sudden variation would clinch his great theory.

27. What valuable item did Swithin accidentally smash on the paved walk?

A. His telescope tube
B. A mirror plate
C. His object-glass
D. Lady Constantine’s watch

C. His object-glass.
Swithin accidentally pushed the parcel containing his magnificent eight-inch first quality object lens over the parapet.

28. What did the lady secretly bring Swithin as a replacement for his broken item?

A. A thick rug
B. A new object-glass
C. A rare astronomy book
D. An apology letter

B. A new object-glass.
Lady Constantine purchased a lens of surprising magnitude, placing it secretly on his table while he slept.

29. What romantic gesture did Lady Constantine perform while Swithin was sleeping?

A. Took his photograph
B. A lock of his hair
C. Left him a note
D. Painted his portrait

B. A lock of his hair.
She took scissors from the table and cut off one of Swithin’s light curls while he was asleep.
30. What great instrument did Swithin require to solve all his difficulties?

A. A powerful lens
B. An equatorial
C. A massive tripod
D. A star map

B. An equatorial.
Swithin stated that an equatorial, properly mounted and fitted, was the one instrument required to make him quite happy.

31. What started the village rumour about Lady Constantine’s interest in Swithin?

A. Swithin’s loud talk
B. The lady’s maid
C. Mr Torkingham
D. Haymoss Fry

B. The lady’s maid.
Lady Constantine’s maid was overheard suggesting that her mistress was interested in the “pretty lad who draws ’em down from the sky”.

32. What was Swithin’s major discovery about variable stars?

A. Their extreme distance
B. A new periodicity
C. Changes in colour
D. Their immense weight

B. A new periodicity.
Swithin discovered a periodicity in the so-called irregularities of variable stars, which he believed would excite the world.

33. Why did Swithin contract a severe chill that led to his illness?

A. Sudden fever
B. Lying in the rain
C. Too much night work
D. Poor diet

B. Lying in the rain.
Upset at losing his fame, he lay down on heather in the rain, contracted a chill, and became delirious.

34. What celestial event spurred Swithin’s recovery?

A. A lunar eclipse
B. The new comet
C. The Venus transit
D. A meteor shower

B. The new comet.
The sudden appearance of a magnificent, growing comet gave Swithin a strenuous wish to live and saved his life.
35. How long had Sir Blount been dead (unbeknownst to Lady Constantine) when she was informed?

A. Over three years
B. Eighteen months plus
C. Less than a week
D. Only a full year

B. Eighteen months plus.
Mr Torkingham informed Lady Constantine that she had been a widow for more than eighteen months.

36. What new mode of transport did Lady Constantine adopt due to her financial struggles?

A. A small phaeton
B. A donkey-chair
C. A bicycle
D. A public coach

B. A donkey-chair.
Due to Sir Blount’s involved affairs and her poverty, she sold her carriages and used a donkey-chair.

37. Where did Swithin propose marriage to Lady Constantine?

A. In the wood cabin
B. On the tower summit
C. Near the Great House
D. At Mrs Martin’s

B. On the tower summit.
Swithin proposed marriage to Viviette on the summit of the column just before the wind whirled off the dome.

38. What catastrophic event happened on the tower immediately after the marriage proposal?

A. An earthquake
B. The dome was blown off
C. A heavy flood
D. The telescope fell

B. The dome was blown off.
Immediately after Viviette agreed, a hurricane seized the tower, whirling the dome off its axis.

39. Due to an accident, what step did Viviette agree to take first in the marriage plan?

A. Rent the tower
B. Move to Africa
C. Go to Pumpminster
D. Visit Warborne

C. Go to Pumpminster.
Since Swithin was detained, Viviette agreed to change places and go to Pumpminster to attend to the marriage preliminaries.
40. What was Louis Glanville’s diplomatic position before he resigned?

A. A chief engineer
B. The Brazilian envoy
C. An attaché at Rio
D. A minister plenipo

C. An attaché at Rio.
Viviette explained that her brother Louis was, or had been, in the diplomatic service as an attaché at Rio Janeiro.

41. What accidentally injured Lady Constantine’s cheek at the railway junction?

A. A falling branch
B. Her brother’s whip
C. A piece of glass
D. A stone thrown

B. Her brother’s whip.
Louis Glanville was driving and his sweeping whip cut across Lady Constantine’s face, leaving a streak of blood.

42. Where did the couple temporarily hide the injured cheek from Louis?

A. At Warborne hotel
B. In the wood cabin
C. At Welland House
D. Near the church

B. In the wood cabin.
To prevent her brother seeing the cut, they went to the column, where she became a captive in the cabin.

43. What Christian rite did Swithin undergo at Viviette’s earnest request?

A. Confession
B. Confirmation
C. Holy Orders
D. Extreme Unction

B. Confirmation.
Viviette insisted that Swithin undergo confirmation to atone for their clandestine marriage.

44. What item did the Bishop find and use to accuse Swithin of culpability?

A. A broken lens
B. A coral bracelet
C. A written vow
D. A pair of gloves

B. A coral bracelet.
The Bishop produced a coral bracelet, stating he had found it on the coverlet in Swithin’s chamber.
45. What did Louis use to set a trap to detect a secret rendezvous between Swithin and Viviette?

A. Flour dust
B. A hidden camera
C. A spider’s thread
D. A small bell

C. A spider’s thread.
Louis used a long cobweb/spider’s thread, stretching it across Swithin’s door to check if it was broken.

46. According to the newspaper, when did Sir Blount actually die?

A. In last December
B. In the American war
C. Eighteen months prior
D. In October 18–

A. In last December.
Newspaper reports confirmed that Sir Blount’s death occurred in last December, not at the time previously supposed.

47. What age must Swithin reach before marrying to retain his annuity?

A. Twenty-one years
B. Twenty-five years
C. Thirty years
D. Fifty years old

B. Twenty-five years.
The £400 a year annuity was settled on Swithin, provided he did not marry before reaching the age of twenty-five.

48. What decision did Viviette make for Swithin’s sake when she learned the truth about his annuity?

A. Divorce the Bishop
B. Refuse remarriage
C. Run to the Cape
D. Destroy the tower

B. Refuse remarriage.
To save his future, she resolved to refuse to legalize their marriage until he had turned twenty-five.

49. Whom did Viviette marry to secure her honour and save her impending child?

A. Mr Torkingham
B. Louis Glanville
C. The Bishop
D. Haymoss Fry

C. The Bishop.
Overwhelmed by her situation, she chose to marry the Bishop to save herself and her impending child.
50. How did Viviette ultimately die upon Swithin’s return to the tower?

A. She fell down the stairs
B. Natural causes
C. Died of shock/joy
D. Sickness at the Cape

C. Died of shock/joy.
Overcome by sudden joy after despair, Viviette fell in Swithin’s arms and died.

Brief Overview

Two on a Tower is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1882. It is a tragic romance that contrasts the intense, fleeting passions of human life with the vast, indifferent backdrop of the universe.

The story centers on Lady Viviette Constantine, a lonely noblewoman. She visits a tower on her estate and meets Swithin St Cleeve, a handsome, passionate young astronomer. Viviette is immediately captivated and helps Swithin buy a powerful telescope for his work.

Viviette’s distant husband, Sir Blount Constantine, is believed to have died abroad. Swithin and Viviette fall in love and marry in secret. They soon learn their marriage is invalid because Sir Blount died much later than they thought. Swithin also discovers he will inherit a large fortune only if he remains unmarried until the age of twenty-five.

Viviette realizes that marrying Swithin immediately would ruin his career. She sacrifices her reputation, urging Swithin to leave England to claim his fortune and pursue his astronomical work. While Swithin is gone, Viviette marries the Bishop of Melchester to protect her honor and the legitimacy of her unborn son.

Three years later, the Bishop dies, and Swithin returns from the Cape. He tells Viviette he has returned immediately to marry her. Overwhelmed by this sudden joy, Viviette dies in his arms.

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