Virginia Woolf: The Duchess and the Jeweller; practice & quiz – Flashcards
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Becoming the "richest jeweller in England" has brought the jeweller all of the following except
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peace of mind.
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The jeweller decides against having the pearls checked before he pays for them because he
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knows that the investment will pay off one way or another.
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The source of the jeweller's dissatisfaction with his life seems to have most to do with
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a lack of intimacy.
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Virginia Woolf revolutionized modern fiction and was known as a pioneer of the use of
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stream of consciousness technique
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Whose work is most likely to require being lissome?
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a ballerina's
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Whom did the jeweller most probably bet that he would become the "richest jeweller in England"?
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his mother
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An expression associated with arrogance is a
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sneer
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Which of the following best reflects the feelings of the duchess toward the jeweller's interest in her daughter, Diana?
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She is willing to use it for her own gain.
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What is the duchess's attitude toward having the pearls checked out?
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reluctant
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Most of all, the jeweller would like the duchess to
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become his mother-in-law.
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At the end of the story, why does Oliver ask for forgiveness?
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He knows that his mother would think he was foolish for buying the pearls without testing them.
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Why does the Duchess invite Oliver to her estate?
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She knows that he likes to be with important people and loves her daughter Diana. She invites him so that he will buy the pearls at the asking price.
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Why does the Duchess want to sell the pearls?
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The Duchess needs money to pay her gambling debts.
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Think about the unspoken part of the bargain that the duchess and the jeweller enter into with the sale of the pearls. Considering what each person gains and loses, who-if anyone-gets the better end of the bargain?
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Answers will vary. Students who believe the duchess gets the better end of the bargain could make points similar to the following: a. The duchess loses little, other than ten fake pearls. b. She gains the money needed to pay her gambling debt. c. She gains assurance that the jeweller will not reveal her gambling to her husband. d. She gains some power over the jeweller in that he will not want to reveal how or why he purchased fake pearls. e. She grants the jeweller weekend access to Diana but will still control that access, since the weekend is to be at her place. f. She does not give the jeweller assurance of her cooperation in his courtship of Diana. g. The jeweller loses a great deal of money. h. He loses self-respect. i. He loses the balance of power, at least temporarily, in his relationship with the duchess. j. He gains, at best, limited access to Diana. k. He gains ten fake pearls. l. He gains no satisfaction. Students who see the bargain as a draw could, in addition to referring to some of the points made above, say that the relationship between the duchess and the jeweller is a long-running game or contest. They are "friends, yet enemies"-equals who cheat, need, and fear each other. Students who believe the jeweller gets the better end of the bargain will have a more difficult time supporting that opinion.
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What are some of the feelings that the jeweller seems to have upon discovering that the pearls are fake? Why does he have these feelings?
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Answers will vary. Students might suggest that the jeweller feels a. ashamed. The unspoken deal for the duchess's daughter makes him see that, like the little boy he once was, he is dirty, deceitful, and common. However, in a perverse reversal, he is now the fashionable one, buying the "stolen" Diana. b. self-disgusted or self-hating. He sees himself as being like the fake pearls ("rotten at the core") and believes that he has changed very little from the dirty, deceitful, common little boy he used to be. He asks forgiveness of his dead mother and of himself. c. pessimistic. He believes he will have a difficult time ("a long weekend") winning Diana because the duchess, having learned how far he will go to win, or "buy," her daughter, now has the upper hand in their relationship. d. foolish or embarrassed. He asks his dead mother's forgiveness for allowing himself to be cheated by the duchess. e. unsurprised. He had suspected that the pearls might be fake. Other ideas should be supported with appropriate reasons.
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What sort of business did Oliver conduct when he was a boy?
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He sold stolen dogs to fashionable women.
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What is Oliver Bacon's social status?
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Oliver Bacon is immensely rich and well respected.
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Which lines best reflect the attitude of Modernism toward modern life? a. "Down the road someone is practicing scales, / The notes like little fishes vanish with a wink of tails . . ." b. ". . . To tell how there is no music or movement which secures / Escape from the weekday time. Which deadens and / endures." c. "A small eternity, a sonnet self-contained in rhyme." d. "Regard these means as ends, concentrate on this Now, / And you may grow to music or drive beyond Hindhead . . ."
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". . . To tell how there is no music or movement which secures / Escape from the weekday time. Which deadens and / endures."
