SparkNotes: The Mayor of Casterbridge: Quiz

1. At the opening of the novel, what is Michael Henchard's occupation?

(A) Shepherd

(B) Farmer

(C) Balladeer

(D) Hay-trusser

2. To whom does Henchard sell his wife?

(A) A furmity-seller

(B) A sailor

(C) A farmer

(D) A nobleman

3. The morning after selling his wife, what pledge does Henchard make?

(A) Not to drink for a period of twenty-one years

(B) To search for her and make amends

(C) To chose a better wife for his second marriage

(D) To live the God-fearing life of a good citizen

4. Upon arriving in Casterbridge, where does Susan Henchard predict that she and Elizabeth-Jane will find Henchard?

(A) In the mayor's office

(B) In the stocks

(C) In the town's finest hotel

(D) In a brothel

5. Why does Henchard take such a strong and immediate liking to Donald Farfrae?

(A) Farfrae is a good drinking companion

(B) Farfrae helps Henchard avoid an uncomfortable confrontation with Susan and Elizabeth-Jane

(C) Farfrae shares with Henchard a technique that makes ruined grain usable

(D) Farfrae provides Henchard with some investment opportunities that promise to earn Henchard a lot of money

6. Who had Henchard arranged to hire as his business manager before meeting Farfrae?

(A) Christopher Coney

(B) Solomon Longways

(C) Nance Mockridge

(D) Joshua Jopp

7. How does Henchard deal with Abel Whittle's failure to report to work on time?

(A) He urges the man's wife to wake her husband earlier each morning

(B) He humiliates the man by sending Whittle into the fields without his pants

(C) He fires Whittle

(D) He turns the matter over to Farfrae

8. How is the “day of public rejoicing” that Henchard arranges thwarted?

(A) He goes on a drinking binge and botches the plans

(B) The visit of a Royal Personage overshadows the event

(C) It rains

(D) Susan takes ill, and Henchard is forced to turn his attentions to her

9. Why does Susan insist on keeping hidden the fact that Elizabeth-Jane does chores in exchange for a room at the inn?

(A) She fears that news of her daughter's duties will reach the mayor and bring shame on him

(B) She is embarrassed by Elizabeth-Jane's clumsiness and awkward manners

(C) After leaving Henchard, Susan lived a life of luxury for a time and believes that doing chores is below her daughter's station

(D) The innkeepers treat Elizabeth-Jane badly, and Susan wishes to spare them from the wrath of the mayor

10. In a letter written on her deathbed, what does Susan confess to her husband?

(A) She and Elizabeth-Jane were abused by the man to whom Henchard sold them

(B) She amassed a great fortune after being sold

(C) Elizabeth-Jane is not his daughter but rather the child of the sailor to whom he sold them

(D) She never loved him

11. Why does Henchard agree to remarry Susan rather than pursue his affair with Lucetta?

(A) He believes that honoring his duties to his first wife is the best thing to do

(B) He does not feel as passionately about Lucetta as he does about Susan

(C) The widowed Susan brings with her more substantial possessions

(D) He feels insecure that because Lucetta is young she will be more likely to fall in love with other men

12. Why does Henchard retract his demand that Farfrae no longer court Elizabeth-Jane?

(A) Henchard fears that his failing business ventures will land him in poverty, and he wants to spare Elizabeth-Jane from this fate

(B) After learning the truth about her parentage, Henchard loses his affection for Elizabeth-Jane and hopes that Farfrae will marry and take her away

(C) Henchard realizes that he has been wrongheaded and wishes to mend his friendship with Farfrae

(D) Henchard hopes to join his family to Farfrae's, thereby connecting himself to the young man's more profitable business ventures

13. What is the name of Lucetta Templeman's estate?

(A) The Ring

(B) The Three Mariners

(C) The Royal Arms

(D) High-Place Hall

14. What ulterior motive prompts Lucetta to invite Elizabeth-Jane to live with her?

(A) She hopes Elizabeth-Jane will ensure frequent visits from Henchard

(B) She has heard that Elizabeth-Jane is a skilled housekeeper and needs help maintaining her estate

(C) She hopes to sabotage Elizabeth-Jane's budding romance with Farfrae

(D) She has no ulterior motives; she is simply lonely and wants the company

15. Where did Lucetta live before moving to Casterbridge?

(A) London

(B) Paris

(C) Jersey

(D) Weydon-Priors

16. How does Lucetta react when Henchard demands that she end her affair with Farfrae in order to marry him?

(A) She tells him that she will love whomever she chooses

(B) She denies having an affair

(C) Fearing that her reputation will be further damaged by scandal, she agrees and gives up Farfrae

(D) She agrees never to see Farfrae again, but continues their affair behind Henchard's back

17. To whom does Henchard entrust Lucetta's letters?

(A) Elizabeth-Jane

(B) Joshua Jopp

(C) Nance Mockridge

(D) Dr. Chalkfield

18. What does Henchard persuade the town's musicians to play at the Three Mariners Inn?

(A) A love ballad that expresses his feelings for Lucetta

(B) A patriotic song that indulges his drunken sentimentality

(C) A psalm to which he sets words that expresses his contempt for Farfrae

(D) A folk song rumored to bring good luck to farmers

19. What is Farfrae's initial reaction when asked to be mayor of Casterbridge?

(A) He accepts enthusiastically

(B) He accepts but admits that the position is only a stepping stone for bigger and better things

(C) He is interested in the position but demands a raise

(D) He worries that he is too young for the position

20. What is the name of the ceremony the townspeople perform to shame Lucetta?

(A) A harlot's parade

(B) A skimmity-ride

(C) A swoon bumple

(D) A smutting

21. How does Lucetta react to the townspeople's attempt to shame her?

(A) She leaves Casterbridge immediately

(B) She has an epileptic fit and dies

(C) She commits suicide

(D) She scorns them and continues to live her life as she pleases

22. What is Henchard's official role in greeting the Royal Personage?

(A) He has no official role, as Farfrae, the new mayor, has forbidden his participation in the ceremony

(B) He delivers a speech expressing the citizens' gratitude and admiration

(C) He is a flag-bearer

(D) He sings the national anthem

23. What event causes Elizabeth-Jane to sever her ties with Henchard?

(A) She discovers that Henchard is not her biological father

(B) She discovers that Henchard sold her mother at a country fair

(C) She discovers that Henchard stopped her from meeting her biological father by falsely reporting her death

(D) After marrying Farfrae, she decides that she can no longer associate with a common hay- trusser

24. Who cares for Henchard in his dying days?

(A) Dr. Chalkfield

(B) Abel Whittle

(C) Joshua Jopp

(D) No one cares for the fallen mayor, and he dies in obscurity

25. To what biblical figure does Henchard compare himself in his suffering?

(A) Cain

(B) Jesus

(C) Job

(D) Moses