SparkNotes: The House of Mirth: Quiz

1. What is the name of Lily's aunt?

(A) Mrs. Bart

(B) Mrs. Peniston

(C) Mrs. Stepney

(D) Mrs. Van Osburgh

2. Who invites Lily on a cruise in the Mediterranean?

(A) Bertha Dorset

(B) Lawrence Selden

(C) Simon Rosedale

(D) Mrs. Trenor

3. The House of Mirth is a good example of a(n):

(A) Comedy of errors.

(B) Aesthetic novel.

(C) Novel of manners.

(D) Picaresque novel.

4. Lily dies when she:

(A) Overdoses on sleeping medicine.

(B) Drowns in East River.

(C) Falls off a horse.

(D) Loses too much blood while giving birth.

5. The owner of the Bellomont is:

(A) Bertha Dorset.

(B) Lawrence Selden.

(C) Carry Fischer.

(D) Judy Trenor.

6. Whom does Lily ask to invest her money in the stock market?

(A) Lawrence Selden

(B) George Dorset

(C) Gus Trenor

(D) Simon Rosedale

7. Whom does Lily marry at the end of the novel before she dies?

(A) Lawrence Selden

(B) Simon Rosedale

(C) Percy Gryce

(D) No one

8. Which woman, whom Lily had previously helped through her charity work, does Lily meet again at the end of the novel just before she dies?

(A) Evie Van Osburgh

(B) Grace Stepney

(C) Nettie Struther

(D) Maria Van Osburgh

9. With whom does Bertha Dorset have an affair aboard the Sabrina?

(A) Ned Silverton

(B) Ned Van Alstyne

(C) Lawrence Selden

(D) Simon Rosedale

10. At the end of the novel, what does Lily do with the letters she bought that were written by Bertha Dorset and addressed to Selden?

(A) She sells them to Simon Rosedale.

(B) She gives them to Selden.

(C) She sells them back to Bertha to make a profit.

(D) She burns them in Selden's fireplace.

11. Whom does Percy Gryce marry?

(A) Lily Bart

(B) Evie Van Osburgh

(C) Gerty Farish

(D) Grace Stepney

12. When Selden arrives at Lily's room in the last chapter of the novel, he intends to:

(A) Propose to her.

(B) Offer her a job.

(C) Take her to live with Gerty Farish.

(D) Tell her about the death of Bertha Dorset.

13. In her will, Mrs. Peniston leaves Lily:

(A) Nothing.

(B) About $10,000—a small fraction of her estate.

(C) More than half of her belongings.

(D) Almost everything she owns.

14. Selden's good-natured cousin who befriends Lily when almost everyone else has abandoned her is:

(A) Grace Stepney

(B) Judy Trenor

(C) Gerty Farish

(D) Julia Peniston

15. The novel is set primarily in:

(A) Philadelphia.

(B) Chicago.

(C) Boston.

(D) New York.

16. After leaving the Emporium, Lily works as a:

(A) Dressmaker.

(B) Teacher.

(C) Cleaner.

(D) Milliner.

17. Selden gets angry at Lily when he sees her leaving the house of this man by herself at the end of Book One:

(A) George Dorset

(B) Percy Gryce

(C) Simon Rosedale

(D) Gus Trenor

18. Lily has a problem controlling her addiction to:

(A) Drinking.

(B) Smoking.

(C) Opium.

(D) Gambling.

19. While in France, Bertha Dorset spreads a rumor that Lily is having an affair with this man:

(A) Lawrence Selden

(B) Gus Trenor

(C) Lord Hubert

(D) George Dorset

20. Who proposes marriage to Lily at the end of Book One, just before she leaves for the Mediterranean?

(A) Simon Rosedale

(B) Ned Silverton

(C) George Dorset

(D) Percy Gryce

21. At a fashion show hosted by the Brys, the guests are awed by which participant in the tableaux vivants:

(A) President Roosevelt

(B) Lily Bart

(C) Gerty Farish

(D) Carry Fischer

22. After returning from the Mediterranean, Carry encourages Lily to marry:

(A) George Dorset or Lawrence Selden.

(B) Simon Rosedale or Lawrence Selden.

(C) George Dorset or Simon Rosedale.

(D) George Dorset or Lawrence Selden.

23. What job does Lily pursue at the Emporium hotel?

(A) Secretary

(B) Cleaning maid

(C) Cook

(D) Concierge

24. Although she loves him, Lily cannot marry Selden because:

(A) He is already engaged to a character we do not meet.

(B) Her aunt has already arranged a marriage for her with Rosedale.

(C) She could not afford to pay him a dowry.

(D) He is not rich enough to provide her with a secure place in high society.

25. Simon Rosedale in Book Two decides that he is no longer willing to marry Lily because:

(A) He thinks he can do better.

(B) He thinks that she had an affair with Percy Gryce.

(C) He thinks that she is a poor investor.

(D) He does not approve of women who gamble on Sundays.