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Jane Eyre - Extract 2
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Jane Eyre - Extract 2

This GCSE English Literature quiz is the second of two extract questions for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. It takes place at the beginning of Volume III, before Jane leaves Thornfield with nowhere to go and no friends from whom to seek help. Rochester has trouble in this passage in facing the strength exhibited by the small, poor, humble Jane.

How to answer an extract question in an exam:

Before writing your answer to an extract question, make sure that you read the passage through more than once. Try to make this a habit because re-reading gives you the opportunity to notice different details and aspects of the passage. The first time you read a passage you should try to gain a general understanding and consider how its details relate to the question you will be answering.

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“Sir,” I interrupted him, “you are inexorable for that unfortunate lady: you speak of her with hate — with vindictive antipathy. It is cruel — she cannot help being mad.”

“Jane, my little darling, (so I will call you, for so you are), you don’t know what you are talking about; you misjudge me again: it is not because she is mad I hate her. If you were mad, do you think I should hate you?”

“I do indeed, sir.”

“Then you are mistaken, and you know nothing about me, and nothing about the sort of love of which I am capable. Every atom of you flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still: if you raved, my arms should confine you, and not a strait waistcoat — your grasp, even in fury, would have a charm for me: if you flew at me as wildly as that woman did this morning, I should receive you in an embrace, at least as fond as it would be restrictive. I should not shrink from you with disgust as I did from her: in your quiet moments you should have no watcher and no nurse but me; and I could hang over you with untiring tenderness, though you gave me no smile in return; and never weary of gazing into your eyes, though they had no longer a ray of recognition for me. — But why do I follow that train of ideas? I was talking of removing you from Thornfield. All, you know, is prepared for prompt departure: to-morrow you shall go. I only ask you to endure one more night under this roof, Jane; and then, farewell to its miseries and terrors for ever! I have a place to repair to which will be a secure sanctuary from hateful reminiscences, from unwelcome intrusion — even from falsehood and slander.”

“And take Adèle with you, sir,” I interrupted; “she will be a companion for you.”

“What do you mean, Jane? I told you I would send Adèle to school: and what do I want with a child for a companion? and not my own child, — a French dancer’s bastard. Why do you importune me about her? I say, why do you assign Adèle to me for a companion?”

“You spoke of retirement, sir; and retirement and solitude are dull: too dull for you.”

“Solitude! Solitude!” he reiterated, with irritation. “I see I must come to an explanation. I don’t know what sphynx-like expression is forming in your countenance. You are to share my solitude. Do you understand?”

I shook my head; it required a degree of courage, excited as he was becoming, even to risk that mute sign of dissent. He had been walking fast about the room, and he stopped, as if suddenly rooted to one spot. He looked at me long and hard: I turned my eyes from him, fixed them on the fire, and tried to assume and maintain a quiet, collected aspect.

“Now for the hitch in Jane’s character,” he said at last, speaking more calmly than from his look I had expected him to speak. “The reel of silk has run smoothly enough so far; but I always knew there would come a knot and a puzzle: here it is. Now for vexation, and exasperation, and endless trouble! By God! I long to exert a fraction of Samson’s strength, and break the entanglement like tow!”

He recommenced his walk: but soon again stopped, and this time just before me.

“Jane! will you hear reason?” (he stooped and approached his lips to my ear) “because, if you won’t, I’ll try violence.” His voice was hoarse; his look that of a man who is just about to burst an insufferable bond and plunge headlong into wild licence.

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (Oxford University Press, 1975)
1 .
What is the immediate context for this passage?
Bertha Mason has just set fire to Rochester's bed
Richard Mason has been stabbed
Jane has just come out of her room for the first time since her wedding to Rochester was stopped
Jane has just informed Rochester of her recent inheritance
Jane finds that Rochester has kept vigil outside her bedroom door
2 .
What immediately follows this passage?
Jane agrees to marry Rochester
Jane tells Rochester that she will not be his mistress and must leave Thornfield Hall
Jane receives word of her uncle's death
Jane is taken in by the Rivers siblings
Wishing Jane to understand his actions, Rochester then tells her the story of his marriage to Bertha
3 .
“'And take Adèle with you, sir,' I interrupted; 'she will be a companion for you.' What does Jane achieve with this statement?
She is merely making a thoughtful suggestion
She interrupts Rochester's train of thought with a reminder that her actions will not be decided by him
She encourages Rochester to take more thought for the child than he does usually
She encourages Rochester to cheer up
Until this point Rochester assumes that Jane will do exactly as he pleases
4 .
Which of the following words does NOT describe Rochester's mood?
Irritable
Impatient
Agitated
Pensive
Rochester is overcome by active, unpleasant emotions. He is not yet able to be reflective
5 .
"I turned my eyes from him, fixed them on the fire, and tried to assume and maintain a quiet, collected aspect." What does this sentence tell the reader about Jane's mood?
Jane is not prepared to listen to Rochester
Jane is overcome with her passions and cannot even pretend to be calm
She is not as calm as she appears
She is inwardly calm but wary of upsetting Rochester
By having to make an effort to appear calm, Jane implies that her inner state is not "quiet" and "collected"
6 .
What metaphor does Rochester use to depict Jane's resistance?
A knot or tangle
A towing-vehicle
A tree root
Samson
By thinking of her resistance as a puzzle, Rochester demonstrates his belief that he can act in order to fix the situation, to remove or disentangle the problem
7 .
Rochester, who has hidden his wife away in the attic, believes he can continue to hide from the consequences of his decisions. Which of the following lines conveys this impression?
"Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still"
"If you flew at me as wildly as that woman did this morning, I should receive you in an embrace"
"I have a place to repair to which will be a secure sanctuary from hateful reminiscences, from unwelcome intrusion — even from falsehood and slander"
"I say, why do you assign Adèle to me for a companion?"
Rochester believes his plan to be the obvious one and has not yet suspected that Jane might not comply
8 .
Which of the following is an accusation Jane makes against Rochester?
Of hating Bertha because she is mad
Of planning to remove Jane from Thornfield Hall by force
Of believing that Jane, too, will become mad
Of not understanding her
Rochester protests that his hatred of his wife is not related to her madness
9 .
What does Rochester mean by saying that Jane has a "sphynx-like expression"
She reminds him of an Egyptian
He does not wish to look at her any longer
He cannot read her expression
All of the above
Rochester does not know what Jane is thinking
10 .
Which of the following best describes the atmosphere of this passage?
Tranquil
Mournful
Jubilant
Tense
This scene is very tense, with Rochester tempted to force Jane into following along with his imagined happy future
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Jane Eyre

Author:  Sheri Smith

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