ENGL410 Final Exam - The Victorian Novel | Practice Test / Quiz / MCQs

1. In the novels of Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens, realism is frequently used in scenes where the protagonist encounters challenging situations. In what ways does this represent a challenge to accepted 'norms' of the period?

Most people still read traditional poetry and French romance novels, so representing real characters challenged the reading habits of Victorians.By using realistic details to contrast the lives of the extremely wealthy to the struggles of the poor but virtuous hero, these authors point out social problems and inequalities.Dickens and Bronte used realism to make the story seem far more complex than it really was.Challenging situations are more difficult to read than happy ones, so realism is used to make the story more interesting in those challenging chapters.

2. A woman as 'the angel of the house' is best described by which of the following?

A false-god, an idol who was really a femme-fatale and who should be avoidedA pure woman who was the moral and spiritual center of the house, who never went out in the urban setting or mixed in the public, whose mission was to fight against the immoral influence the femme fatale and market capitalismA woman who vowed to wear only white, as a symbol of purity, and who likewise vowed never to leave the house where she lived, but directed family affairs from the drawing roomA midwife or nurse, a woman who did not marry but who served married women in their time of need

3. Monomania was a frightening mental disorder for the Victorians because:

it was a form of partial insanity conceived as single pathological preoccupation in an otherwise sound mind—and so could be hard to detect in others or in one's self.it could strike without warning, like fever.it primarily attacked women and was related to the reproductive system.it signaled infection with the lower classes and potential degeneration and atavism.

4. There were several phases of the industrial revolution. In which combination are the phases listed in correct chronological order?

Railways and Steel, Electricity and Chemicals, Information Technologies,Textiles, Electricity, Railway and SteelNone of theseRailway and Steel, Textiles, Information Technologies

5. Woodblock illustrations were important until the development of line illustrations and other methods. Three outstanding woodblook illustrators of the period before line-drawing include:

Charles Dickens, William Thackery, and Lewis Carroll.Douglas Jerrold, Lewis Carroll, and Charles Kingsley.Gustav Doré, John Tenniel, and Linley Sambourne.Napier, Hopkinson, and Cope.

6. Dickens uses realism as a technique to support a larger theme that underlies his writing. He criticizes the institutionalized corruption that existed and attempts to engage the readers' emotions (frustration, anger or sadness) on behalf of the victims. Which of these passages best illustrates this technique?

'No, she had never seen him. Young as she was when her mama died, she remembered how the tears would come into her eyes when she spoke of him and of the noble generosity of his character, which she had said was to be trusted above all earthly things; and All of these'Bless you, sir, the way she tended them two children after the mother died was the talk of the yard! And it was a wonder to see her with him after he was took ill, it really was! 'Mrs. Blinder,' he said to me the very last he spoke—he was lying there—'Mr''I began to keep the little creatures,' she said, 'with an object that the wards will readily comprehend. With the intention of restoring them to liberty. When my judgment should be given. Ye-es! They die in prison, though. Their lives, poor silly things'There was such a shock of apprehension in his face, and he knew Richard so perfectly, and I too had seen so much of his gradual decay, that what my dear girl had said to me in the fullness of her foreboding love sounded like a knell in my ears. 'In case

7. Which of the following passages most accurately depicts the sensation-fiction technique of using shock or highly charged emotions?

'When he had thoroughly recovered himself, and had joined me on the beach, his warm Southern nature broke through all artificial English restraints in a moment. He overwhelmed me with the wildest expressions of affection—exclaimed passionately, in his exa'The first touch of womanly tenderness that I had heard from her trembled in her voice as she said the words; but no tears glistened in those large, wistfully attentive eyes of hers, which were still fixed on me.''We both bounced into the parlour in a highly abrupt and undignified manner. My mother sat by the open window laughing and fanning herself. Pesca was one of her especial favourites and his wildest eccentricities were always pardonable in her eyes.''I had mechanically turned in this latter direction, and was strolling along the lonely high-road—idly wondering, I remember, what the Cumberland young ladies would look like—when, in one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop by the touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly on my shoulder from behind me. I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick. There, in the middle of the broad bright high-road—there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven—stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white…'

8. Using concepts drawn from physiognomy, early eugenics, psychiatry and Social Darwinism, Cesare Lombroso's theory of anthropological criminology essentially stated that:

criminality was inherited, and that someone 'born criminal' could be identified by physical defects, which confirmed a criminal as savage, or atavistic.the id, ego, and super-ego are the driving agents of every action and reaction.'man is a calculating animal,' in the causes of criminal behavior, premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime.no one can ever be certain about criminal intent, not even the criminal him/herself.this was the mechanism that had allowed monarchies to become the primary form of government. He concluded that monarchs had asserted the right to rule and enforced it either through an exercise in raw power, or through a form of contract.

10. The British Empire is often described as 'ambivalent' in its expansion. Which of the following best explains this in terms of Victorian Imperialism?

The British were not always interested in the territories that they took over, but occasionally felt compelled to conquer one territory to protect another.The British were at war with other countries and colonies on the grounds of religious persecution.The British were committed to expanding the empire in every direction and actively sought to increase their land holdings.The British were always interested in expanding their territories and had little to no concern for trade.

11. In the Victorian period, phrenology was a science of the mind that:

focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions.is a pseudoscience primarily concerned with reflexology and the nerves of the feet.is a practice similar to acupuncture and focuses on pressure points and glandular activity.is the assessment of a person's character or personality based on his outer appearance, especially the face.

12. Like Dickens, Bronte uses realism and social comparison to critique society and injustice. Which of the following passages best reflects this technique?

'The din was on the causeway: a horse was coming; the windings of the lane yet hid it, but it approached. I was just leaving the stile; yet, as the path was narrow, I sat still to let it go by. In those days I was young, and all sorts of fancies bright an'While the direction was being executed, the lady consulted moved slowly up the room. I suppose I have a considerable organ of veneration, for I retain yet the sense of admiring awe with which my eyes traced her steps. Seen now, in broad daylight, she loo'Something of daylight still lingered, and the moon was waxing bright: I could see him plainly. His figure was enveloped in a riding cloak, fur collared and steel clasped; its details were not apparent, but I traced the general points of middle height and'Ravenous, and now very faint, I devoured a spoonful or two of my portion without thinking of its taste; but the first edge of hunger blunted, I perceived I had got in hand a nauseous mess; burnt porridge is almost as bad as rotten potatoes; famine itself soon sickens over it. The spoons were moved slowly: I saw each girl taste her food and try to swallow it; but in most cases the effort was soon relinquished. Breakfast was over, and none had breakfasted. Thanks being returned for what we had not got, and a second hymn chanted, the refectory was evacuated for the schoolroom.'

14. Victorian novels use characterization to represent class and rank. Which of the following passages is a good example of how Thomas Hardy reveals the class tension in Return of the Native?

''I say, Sam,' observed Humphrey when the old man was gone, 'she and Clym Yeobright would make a very pretty pigeon-pair—hey? If they wouldn't I'll be dazed! Both of one mind about niceties for certain, and learned in print, and always thinking about high'The subject of their discourse had been keenly interesting to her. A young and clever man was coming into that lonely heath from, of all contrasting places in the world, Paris. It was like a man coming from heaven. More singular still, the heathmen had iAll of these''They say, too, that Clym Yeobright is become a real perusing man, with the strangest notions about things. There, that's because he went to school early, such as the school was.'' ''Strange notions, has he?' said the old man. 'Ah, there's too much of th'That five minutes of overhearing furnished Eustacia with visions enough to fill the whole blank afternoon. Such sudden alternations from mental vacuity do sometimes occur thus quietly. She could never have believed in the morning that her colourless inne

15. The term supernatural meant many things to the Victorians. Which of the following BEST describes Victorian supernatural?

Dystopian narratives of science gone-wrong, super-strong monsters, and beings with unexplained powers'unexplained' phenomena, Spiritualism, communication with the dead or with the past, aspects of religionStories of horror and myth or 'old wives tales'Adventure stories that often included monsters of history or of mythology

16. The Victorian period saw the professionalization of the sciences, and one of the leading thinkers of the age was Charles Darwin. Darwin's theory of evolution is best described by which of the following:

A theory that suggested apes had turned into men and this proved transmutation, or the changing of one species into another speciesA theory originally developed as a kind of criminology and a way of telling one race from anotherAn idea that concerned adaptation but not actual evolution, a theory that came later, after Darwin's deathThe understanding that all species descended from common ancestors and this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence results in selective breeding

18. The sensation novel evolved out of tabloid journalism and the public's desire for novelty. They were related to the horror novel and to the mystery novel. Which of the following texts helped to first make sensation fiction popular with 'sensation mania'?

All of theseRobert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and HydeWilkie Collins' Woman in WhiteElizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret

21. In what ways did the railway reinforce differences of class?

It did not reinforce class but rather served to democratize its riders, who were all heading to the same destination.Most of the passengers were wealthy in the early days of the railway; it was too expensive for the poorer classes (who might make only 10 shillings a week) to travel that way.The railroad workers did not like to travel by the railway because they feared it interfered with digestion of coarse food.The coaches were differentiated by class, and railway workers often rode at the back of the car.

22. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects Victorian fears of atavism and concepts of criminal anthropology because:

the case revolves around a medical and scientific experiment.Mr. Hyde is much craftier than the doctor is.Dr. Jekyll changes in his appearance as his mind degenerates so that he looks, acts, and speaks more like an animal.no one can tell that the two men are one in the same.

23. Sensation novels were not just entertainment; they also commented on social problems. Elizabeth Braddon created dangerous, scheming heroines embroiled in the complications of the bigamy plot. Which of the following were these plots responding to?

The property rights of women against an obviously male-biased law that determined only men could inheritThe political machinations of the empire during Victoria's reign, particularly as regards British coloniesThe divorce rights of women against an obviously male-biased law that determined that, while a wife's adultery was sufficient cause for a divorce, a husband's adultery was insufficient causeThe dangerous and scheming prostitutes of the Contagious Disease Acts and the threat they posed to the Victorian family

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25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know? Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson© 2026 Fatskills.com

All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know?
Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
© 2026 Fatskills.com