GCSE Jane Austen | Text Revision in Pride and Prejudice

English Literature Quiz - Pride and Prejudice - Understanding the Text (Questions)

This GCSE English Literature quiz helps you understand Pride and Prejudice more deeply by revising key moments, relationships and themes so you can explain Austen’s choices with confidence.

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Fascinating Fact:

Money, rank, and inheritance shape choices throughout the novel, demonstrating how personal happiness is tied to rigid social structures.

In GCSE English Literature, understanding the text means following how plot, character and setting work together. In Pride and Prejudice, marriages, letters and visits all reveal values, conflicts and social pressures.

Key Terms

Interpretation: A thoughtful explanation of what a scene, character or quotation means and why it matters.
Context: The historical and social background, such as Regency marriage laws and class expectations, that influence characters’ choices.
Narrative viewpoint: The position from which the story is told, here a third-person narrator who often reflects Elizabeth’s perspective.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do money and class affect characters in Pride and Prejudice?

Money and class affect who can marry whom and how people are treated. Darcy’s wealth, the Bennets’ limited fortune, and Mr Collins’s position all shape opportunities and tensions in the novel.

What should I look for when understanding a scene with Elizabeth and Darcy?

Focus on what each character says, how their tone changes, and what is implied. Ask how pride, prejudice or attraction appear, and which lines you could quote to support your reading.

How can I show good understanding of the whole text in the exam?

Link the extract to the wider novel. Refer to other key moments, such as Darcy’s letter or Lydia’s elopement, and explain how these events develop themes and relationships across the text.

Try These Related Quizzes

Why is Mrs Bennet excited to hear that someone is renting Netherfield Park?

[ ]	She hopes that the new tenant will marry one of her daughters
[ ]	She owns Netherfield Park and will be glad to have an income once again
[ ]	She had been concerned that it would be rented out to soldiers
[ ]	She had been worried that Mr Bennet would decide to rent Netherfield despite not being in a position to afford it

For what reason is the future of the Bennet sisters insecure?

[ ]	They will not inherit Longbourn after their father's death
[ ]	They are not accustomed to supporting themselves financially
[ ]	They are unmarried and have no brother to support them if their father were to die
[ ]	All of the above

Why does Mr Collins visit Longbourn?

[ ]	He hopes to impress Mr Darcy
[ ]	He hopes to help Mr Bennet to challenge the legality of the entailment
[ ]	He plans to marry one of his cousins
[ ]	He plans to move to the neighbourhood to look after one of the churches

What does Mrs Bennet hope will occur when she sends Jane on horseback to Netherfield Park?

[ ]	She hopes the exercise will improve Jane's health
[ ]	She hopes Jane will be able to return home more quickly
[ ]	She hopes that Jane will be delayed from returning home by rain
[ ]	She hopes that Mr Bingley will invite Jane to go riding

What are Wickham's accusations against Mr Darcy?

[ ]	That Mr Darcy prevented him from marrying his sister
[ ]	That Mr Darcy has cheated him out of the "living" his godfather meant him to have
[ ]	That Mr Darcy forced him to become a common soldier
[ ]	That Mr Darcy had encouraged him to get married at too young an age

What is Mr Darcy's objection to Elizabeth?

[ ]	Her family's "inferiority"
[ ]	Her lack of education
[ ]	The behaviour of Mr Collins
[ ]	Her sharp nature

What do Mr Gardiner and Mr Bennet hope to achieve by going to London?

[ ]	To find and disown Lydia
[ ]	To bring Lydia back to Longbourn
[ ]	To find Lydia and persuade Mr Wickham to marry her
[ ]	To have Mr Wickham arrested

Who or what comes between Mr Bingley and Jane Bennet?

[ ]	He is put off by the behaviour of her family
[ ]	Jane persuades him that she is not interested
[ ]	The influence of Miss Bingley
[ ]	The influence of Mr Darcy

Many episodes in the novel are related by letter. Which of the following is NOT conveyed by letter?

[ ]	Lady Catherine's threat that society will despise and exclude Elizabeth if she were to marry Mr Darcy
[ ]	Mr Wickham's involvement with Georgiana Darcy
[ ]	Mr Darcy's payments for Mr Wickham's Brighton debts
[ ]	Lydia's elopement with Mr Wickham

10.

How is Elizabeth's marriage a support for her family?

[ ]	She is able to prevent Mr Collins from inheriting their home
[ ]	She is able to improve her mother's character
[ ]	She sets a good example for Lydia to follow
[ ]	She is able to exert a positive influence over Kitty from a safe distance

English Literature Quiz - Pride and Prejudice - Understanding the Text (Answers)

Why is Mrs Bennet excited to hear that someone is renting Netherfield Park?

[x]	She hopes that the new tenant will marry one of her daughters
[ ]	She owns Netherfield Park and will be glad to have an income once again
[ ]	She had been concerned that it would be rented out to soldiers
[ ]	She had been worried that Mr Bennet would decide to rent Netherfield despite not being in a position to afford it

The narrator tells us that "the business of her life was to get her daughters married". Mr Bingley is wealthy and single. His arrival in the neighbourhood is an exciting event for Mrs Bennet

For what reason is the future of the Bennet sisters insecure?

[ ]	They will not inherit Longbourn after their father's death
[ ]	They are not accustomed to supporting themselves financially
[ ]	They are unmarried and have no brother to support them if their father were to die
[x]	All of the above

Their father's estate is "entailed", meaning that it must pass to the nearest male relative after his death. This leaves the five sisters and their mother in danger of homelessness if he were to die

Why does Mr Collins visit Longbourn?

[ ]	He hopes to impress Mr Darcy
[ ]	He hopes to help Mr Bennet to challenge the legality of the entailment
[x]	He plans to marry one of his cousins
[ ]	He plans to move to the neighbourhood to look after one of the churches

Mr Collins plans to compensate for the unfairness of the entail by marrying one of his cousins. He originally chooses Jane, but swiftly moves on to Elizabeth after hearing Mrs Bennet's plans for Jane

What does Mrs Bennet hope will occur when she sends Jane on horseback to Netherfield Park?

[ ]	She hopes the exercise will improve Jane's health
[ ]	She hopes Jane will be able to return home more quickly
[x]	She hopes that Jane will be delayed from returning home by rain
[ ]	She hopes that Mr Bingley will invite Jane to go riding

Mrs Bennet wishes Jane to be able to stay the night at Netherfield Park, giving her greater opportunity to spend time with Mr Bingley. She is shamelessly transparent in her scheming

What are Wickham's accusations against Mr Darcy?

[ ]	That Mr Darcy prevented him from marrying his sister
[x]	That Mr Darcy has cheated him out of the "living" his godfather meant him to have
[ ]	That Mr Darcy forced him to become a common soldier
[ ]	That Mr Darcy had encouraged him to get married at too young an age

Mr Wickham enlists Elizabeth's sympathy, telling her that he should have become a clergyman and that he had been cheated by Mr Darcy of the church he had been promised

What is Mr Darcy's objection to Elizabeth?

[x]	Her family's "inferiority"
[ ]	Her lack of education
[ ]	The behaviour of Mr Collins
[ ]	Her sharp nature

Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that he loves her despite his disgust at the thought of being allied to her family

What do Mr Gardiner and Mr Bennet hope to achieve by going to London?

[ ]	To find and disown Lydia
[ ]	To bring Lydia back to Longbourn
[x]	To find Lydia and persuade Mr Wickham to marry her
[ ]	To have Mr Wickham arrested

Mrs Bennet expects her husband to fight Mr Wickham in order to make him marry Lydia

Who or what comes between Mr Bingley and Jane Bennet?

[ ]	He is put off by the behaviour of her family
[ ]	Jane persuades him that she is not interested
[ ]	The influence of Miss Bingley
[x]	The influence of Mr Darcy

Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that he did everything possible to separate the pair