Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
An extract from a work first published in 1886.
This extract is from Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. They meet secretly at the old earthwork; Henchard, now sober and the town's mayor, proposes a plan to present Susan as a widow and court and marry her again, shielding Elizabeth-Jane and his reputation.
Source A
1 Just before eight he approached the deserted earth-work and entered by the south path which descended over the débris of the former dens. In a few moments he could discern a female figure creeping in by the great north gap, or public gateway. They met in the middle of the arena. Neither spoke just at first—there was no necessity for speech—and the poor woman leant against
6 Henchard, who supported her in his arms. “I don’t drink,” he said in a low, halting, apologetic voice. “You hear, Susan?—I don’t drink now—I haven’t since that night.” Those were his first words.
11 He felt her bow her head in acknowledgment that she understood. After a minute or two he again began: “If I had known you were living, Susan! But there was every reason to suppose
16 you and the child were dead and gone. I took every possible step to find you—travelled—advertised. My opinion at last was that you had started for some colony with that man, and had been drowned on your voyage. Why did you keep silent like this?”
21 “O Michael! because of him—what other reason could there be? I thought I owed him faithfulness to the end of one of our lives—foolishly I believed there was something solemn and binding in the bargain; I thought that even in honour I dared not desert him when he had paid so much for me in good faith. I meet you now only as his widow—I consider myself that, and that I have no claim upon
26 you. Had he not died I should never have come—never! Of that you may be sure.” “Tut-tut! How could you be so simple?” “I don’t know. Yet it would have been very wicked—if I had not thought like
31 that!” said Susan, almost crying. “Yes—yes—so it would. It is only that which makes me feel ’ee an innocent woman. But—to lead me into this!”
36 “What, Michael?” she asked, alarmed. “Why, this difficulty about our living together again, and Elizabeth-Jane. She cannot be told all—she would so despise us both that—I could not bear it!”
41 “That was why she was brought up in ignorance of you. I could not bear it either.” “Well—we must talk of a plan for keeping her in her present belief, and getting matters straight in spite of it. You have heard I am in a large way of
46 business here—that I am Mayor of the town, and churchwarden, and I don’t know what all?” “Yes,” she murmured.
51 “These things, as well as the dread of the girl discovering our disgrace, makes it necessary to act with extreme caution. So that I don’t see how you two can return openly to my house as the wife and daughter I once treated badly, and banished from me; and there’s the rub o’t.”
56 “We’ll go away at once. I only came to see—” “No, no, Susan; you are not to go—you mistake me!” he said with kindly severity. “I have thought of this plan: that you and Elizabeth take a cottage in the town as the widow Mrs. Newson and her daughter; that I meet you, court
61 you, and marry you. Elizabeth-Jane coming to my house as my stepdaughter. The thing is so natural and easy that it is half done in thinking o’t. This would leave my shady, headstrong, disgraceful life as a young man absolutely unopened; the secret would be yours and mine only; and I should have the pleasure of seeing my own only child under my roof, as well as my wife.”
66 “I am quite in your hands, Michael,” she said meekly. “I came here for the sake of Elizabeth; for myself, if you tell me to leave again to-morrow morning, and never come near you more, I am content to go.”
71 “Now, now; we don’t want to hear that,” said Henchard gently. “Of course you won’t leave again. Think over the plan I have proposed for a few hours; and if you can’t hit upon a better one we’ll adopt it. I have to be away for a day or two on business, unfortunately; but during that time you can get lodgings—the only ones in the town fit for you are those over the china-shop in High
76 Street—and you can also look for a cottage.” “If the lodgings are in High Street they are dear, I suppose?” “Never mind—you must start genteel if our plan is to be carried out. Look to
81 me for money. Have you enough till I come back?” “Quite,” said she. “And are you comfortable at the inn?”
86 “O yes.” “And the girl is quite safe from learning the shame of her case and ours?—that’s what makes me most anxious of all.”
91 “You would be surprised to find how unlikely she is to dream of the truth. How could she ever suppose such a thing?” “True!”
96 “I like the idea of repeating our marriage,” said Mrs. Henchard, after a pause. “It seems the only right course, after all this. Now I think I must go back to Elizabeth-Jane, and tell her that our kinsman, Mr. Henchard, kindly wishes us to stay in the town.”
101 “Very well—arrange that yourself. I’ll go some way with you.” “No, no. Don’t run any risk!” said his wife anxiously. “I can find my way back—it is not late. Please let me go alone.”
Questions
Instructions
- Answer all questions.
- Use black ink or black ball point pen.
- Fill in the boxes on this page.
- You must answer the questions in the spaces provided.
- Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
- Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked.
- You must refer to the insert booklet provided.
- You must not use a dictionary.
Information
- The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
- Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes
- The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
- There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.
- You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your reading in Section A.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your writing in Section B.
Advice
- You are advised to spend about 15 minutes reading through the source and all five questions you have to answer.
- You should make sure you leave sufficient time to check your answers.
Section A: Reading
Answer all questions in this section. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 5.
Answer all parts of this question.
Choose one answer for each question.
1.1 According to the narrator, where do the two figures meet?
- In the centre of the arena
- At the northern gateway
- On the southern path
[1 mark]
1.2 How did the man and the woman enter the earth-work?
- the man by the south path, the woman by the great north gap
- the man by the great north gap, the woman by the south path
- the man and the woman both entered by the south path
[1 mark]
1.3 What did the man discern?
- a female figure
- the former dens
- the public gateway
[1 mark]
1.4 Where did the man and the woman meet?
- by the south path
- in the middle of the arena
- by the great north gap
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 10 of the source:
6 Henchard, who supported her in his arms. “I don’t drink,” he said in a low, halting, apologetic voice. “You hear, Susan?—I don’t drink now—I haven’t since that night.” Those were his first words.
How does the writer use language here to show Henchard’s feelings and the mood of the meeting? You could include the writer’s choice of:
- words and phrases
- language features and techniques
- sentence forms.
[8 marks]
Question 3
You now need to think about the structure of the source as a whole. This text is from the middle of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of intrigue?
You could write about:
- how intrigue develops throughout the source
- how the writer uses structure to create an effect
- the writer's use of any other structural features, such as changes in mood, tone or perspective.
[8 marks]
Question 4
For this question focus on the second part of the source, from line 41 to the end.
In this part of the source, Henchard takes control of the situation and seems like he is trying to help Susan. The writer suggests that his main concern is actually his own reputation and he is being selfish.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Henchard's true motivations
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray his focus on reputation
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A travel company specialising in remote places is collecting short creative pieces for its new brochure.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a shipwreck on a remote beach from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a journey to deliver a mysterious package.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]