Chapter XIII Practice Quiz — Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XIII
Why do Jane and Adèle have to vacate the library at the start of Chapter XIII?
Rochester needs the library as a reception-room for his agent and tenants who have arrived on business.
What does Adèle expect Rochester to have brought her from Millcote?
A present. Rochester intimated that among his luggage there would be a little box whose contents would interest her.
How does Rochester invite Jane to tea?
He sends a message through Mrs. Fairfax that he would be glad if Jane and her pupil would take tea with him in the drawing-room that evening.
What does Jane wear to take tea with Rochester?
She replaces her black stuff dress with a black silk dress and pins on a small pearl brooch given to her by Miss Temple as a parting keepsake from Lowood.
What are the three paintings Jane shows Rochester?
A cormorant on a half-submerged mast above a drowned corpse; a spectral woman rising into a twilight sky crowned with a star; and a colossal veiled head resting against an iceberg beneath the Northern Lights.
What does Mrs. Fairfax reveal about Rochester's family at the end of the chapter?
His elder brother Rowland died without a will about nine years ago, leaving Edward master of Thornfield. Their father and Rowland had placed Edward in a painful position to secure his fortune, causing him to break with his family.
What is Rochester's full name as revealed in this chapter?
Edward Fairfax Rochester. Adèle calls him "Monsieur Edouard Fairfax de Rochester."
How does Jane describe Rochester's physical appearance?
Broad and jetty eyebrows, square forehead, decisive nose, grim mouth, chin, and jaw, broad-chested and thin-flanked — athletic but neither tall nor graceful.
How does Rochester react when Adèle tries to kiss him goodnight?
He endures the caress but scarcely seems to relish it more than his dog Pilot would have done, suggesting emotional distance from the child.
What role does Mrs. Fairfax play during the tea scene?
She tries to be amiable and make conversation when Rochester is silent, arranges the tea with assiduous celerity, and later settles into a corner with her knitting — serving as a social mediator.
How does Jane's reaction to Rochester's rudeness reflect the theme of independence?
Jane finds his harsh caprice freeing rather than intimidating, noting it lays her under no obligation. She observes him with detached curiosity rather than subservience, establishing herself as an intellectual equal.
What does the metaphor of a "rill from the outer world" flowing through Thornfield represent?
It represents the vitality and connection to the wider world that Rochester's presence brings to the previously silent, isolated household, symbolizing awakening and engagement.
How does the chapter explore the theme of art as self-expression?
Jane's three visionary paintings externalize her inner emotional landscape of isolation, longing, and despair. She admits to being happily absorbed while painting but tormented by the gap between her vision and her handiwork.
What literary device is Rochester using when he refers to Jane and the "men in green"?
Allusion to English folklore and fairy mythology. He links Jane to supernatural beings, continuing the novel's motif of fairy and elfin imagery associated with her character.
What is ekphrasis, and how does Brontë use it in this chapter?
Ekphrasis is the vivid literary description of a visual work of art. Brontë uses it to describe Jane's three watercolour paintings in elaborate detail, revealing Jane's psychology without direct exposition.
What literary allusion appears in the description of Jane's third painting?
The phrases "the likeness of a kingly crown" and "the shape which shape had none" allude to Milton's Paradise Lost, specifically the description of Death.
How does Brontë use dramatic irony in Mrs. Fairfax's account of Rochester's past?
Mrs. Fairfax's evasive explanation of why Rochester shuns Thornfield — citing only family disagreements — conceals the far darker secret of Bertha Mason locked in the attic, which the reader will discover later.
What does the word "piquant" mean as Jane uses it to describe Rochester's behavior?
Pleasantly stimulating or interesting; agreeably provocative. Jane finds his eccentric rudeness intriguing rather than offensive.
What does "meed" mean when Jane says praise is "the meed teachers most covet"?
A deserved share or reward. Jane is saying that praise of a pupil's progress is the reward teachers desire most.
Who says: "I was tormented by the contrast between my idea and my handiwork"?
Jane Eyre, explaining to Rochester that while she was happy painting, she was frustrated that her technical skill could not fully realize her imaginative vision.
Who says: "The men in green all forsook England a hundred years ago"?
Jane Eyre, responding seriously to Rochester's teasing suggestion that she was waiting for fairies on the road. Her reply shows her wit and grounding in reality.
Who says: "She began by felling my horse"?
Rochester, humorously blaming Jane for his riding accident and sprained ankle when Mrs. Fairfax tries to praise Jane's character.