Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- Villette by Charlotte Brontë
An extract from a work first published in 1853.
This extract is taken from Villette, as Lucy Snowe begins her first English lesson at Madame Beck’s girls’ school abroad and faces insolent pupils who scorn her background; with limited French, she must impose discipline and overturn their expectations.
Source A
1 The first glance informed me that many of the pupils were more than girls—quite young women; I knew that some of them were of noble family (as nobility goes in Labassecour), and I was well convinced that not one amongst them was ignorant of my position in Madame’s household. As I mounted the estràde (a low platform, raised a step above the flooring), where stood the
6 teacher’s chair and desk, I beheld opposite to me a row of eyes and brows that threatened stormy weather—eyes full of an insolent light, and brows hard and unblushing as marble. The continental “female” is quite a different being to the insular “female” of the same age and class: I never saw such eyes and brows in England. Madame Beck introduced me in one cool phrase, sailed from
11 the room, and left me alone in my glory. I shall never forget that first lesson, nor all the under-current of life and character it opened up to me. Then first did I begin rightly to see the wide difference that lies between the novelist’s and poet’s ideal “jeune fille” and
16 the said “jeune fille” as she really is. It seems that three titled belles in the first row had sat down predetermined that a bonne d’enfants should not give them lessons in English. They knew they had succeeded in expelling obnoxious teachers before now; they knew that
21 Madame would at any time throw overboard a professeur or maitresse who became unpopular with the school—that she never assisted a weak official to retain his place—that if he had not strength to fight, or tact to win his way, down he went: looking at “Miss Snowe,” they promised themselves an easy victory.
26 Mesdemoiselles Blanche, Virginie, and Angélique opened the campaign by a series of titterings and whisperings; these soon swelled into murmurs and short laughs, which the remoter benches caught up and echoed more loudly. This growing revolt of sixty against one, soon became oppressive enough; my command of French being so limited, and exercised under such cruel constraint.
31 Could I but have spoken in my own tongue, I felt as if I might have gained a hearing; for, in the first place, though I knew I looked a poor creature, and in many respects actually was so, yet nature had given me a voice that could make itself heard, if lifted in excitement or deepened by emotion. In the
36 second place, while I had no flow, only a hesitating trickle of language, in ordinary circumstances, yet—under stimulus such as was now rife through the mutinous mass—I could, in English, have rolled out readily phrases stigmatizing their proceedings as such proceedings deserved to be stigmatized; and then with some sarcasm, flavoured with contemptuous bitterness for the
41 ringleaders, and relieved with easy banter for the weaker but less knavish followers, it seemed to me that one might possibly get command over this wild herd, and bring them into training, at least. All I could now do was to walk up to Blanche—Mademoiselle de Melcy, a young baronne—the eldest, tallest, handsomest, and most vicious—stand before her desk, take from under her hand
46 her exercise-book, remount the estrade, deliberately read the composition, which I found very stupid, and, as deliberately, and in the face of the whole school, tear the blotted page in two. This action availed to draw attention and check noise. One girl alone, quite
51 in the background, persevered in the riot with undiminished energy. I looked at her attentively. She had a pale face, hair like night, broad strong eyebrows, decided features, and a dark, mutinous, sinister eye: I noted that she sat close by a little door, which door, I was well aware, opened into a small closet where books were kept. She was standing up for the purpose of
56 conducting her clamour with freer energies. I measured her stature and calculated her strength. She seemed both tall and wiry; but, so the conflict were brief and the attack unexpected, I thought I might manage her. Advancing up the room, looking as cool and careless as I possibly could, in
61 short, ayant l’air de rien, I slightly pushed the door and found it was ajar. In an instant, and with sharpness, I had turned on her. In another instant she occupied the closet, the door was shut, and the key in my pocket. It so happened that this girl, Dolores by name, and a Catalonian by race, was
66 the sort of character at once dreaded and hated by all her associates; the act of summary justice above noted proved popular: there was not one present but, in her heart, liked to see it done. They were stilled for a moment; then a smile—not a laugh—passed from desk to desk: then—when I had gravely and tranquilly returned to the estrade, courteously requested silence, and
71 commenced a dictation as if nothing at all had happened—the pens travelled peacefully over the pages, and the remainder of the lesson passed in order and industry.
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 What does the narrator believe the pupils already know about the narrator?
- The narrator's role in Madame's household
- The narrator's aristocratic birth and riches
- The narrator's intention to stay only briefly
[1 mark]
1.2 Which statement best summarises the narrator’s first observations about the pupils and the narrator’s place in the room?
- The class includes young women, with aristocratic connections present among the pupils, and the pupils already know about the narrator’s employment under Madame Beck; the narrator steps onto a slightly raised platform.
- The class consists entirely of little girls from modest families who do not know the narrator works for Madame Beck; the narrator stays on the main floor with the pupils.
- The class is older than the narrator and drawn from outside Labassecour, and the pupils think the narrator is a visitor; the narrator sits among the pupils at a desk.
[1 mark]
1.3 What does the narrator believe about the pupils’ knowledge of the narrator’s position in Madame’s household?
- All the pupils knew the narrator’s position in Madame’s household.
- Only the pupils of noble family knew the narrator’s position in Madame’s household.
- None of the pupils knew the narrator’s position in Madame’s household.
[1 mark]
1.4 How is the estràde described?
- a low platform, raised a step above the flooring
- a high platform, raised several steps above the flooring
- a flat platform, lying level with the flooring
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 The first glance informed me that many of the pupils were more than girls—quite young women; I knew that some of them were of noble family (as nobility goes in Labassecour), and I was well convinced that not one amongst them was ignorant of my position in Madame’s household. As I mounted the estràde (a low platform, raised a step above the flooring), where stood the
6 teacher’s chair and desk, I beheld opposite to me a row of eyes and brows that threatened stormy weather—eyes full of an insolent light, and brows hard and unblushing as marble. The continental “female” is quite a different being to the insular “female” of the same age and class: I never saw such eyes and brows in England. Madame Beck introduced me in one cool phrase, sailed from
11 the room, and left me alone in my glory. I shall never forget that first lesson, nor all the under-current of life and character it opened up to me. Then first did I begin rightly to see the wide difference that lies between the novelist’s and poet’s ideal “jeune fille” and
How does the writer use language here to present the class and the narrator’s feelings at the start of the lesson? 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 beginning of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of calm?
You could write about:
- how calm emerges by the end of 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, where the teacher locks the disruptive girl in the closet, her actions seem very extreme. The writer suggests that this decisive action was necessary to show the other students she was in charge.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the teacher and her extreme methods of discipline
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest her actions were necessary
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A digital magazine about modern work is inviting creative pieces from its readership.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a high-pressure kitchen from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about an important deadline.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]