The Scarlet Pimpernel

Chapters 1-9

Reading Check

1. Sergeant Bibot (Chapter 1)

2. A letter describing the rescue with a little red pimpernel flower (Chapter 1)

3. Because he will not intervene in France (Chapter 3)

4. The Fisherman’s Rest (Chapter 3)

5. The Marquis de St Cyr (Chapter 4)

6. Sir Percy Blakeney (Chapter 6)

7. Discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. The peasantry is portrayed as bloodthirsty, enjoying the spectacle of beheading the aristocracy and enjoying the chase as nobles try to run and hide. There is some truth in Orczy’s portrayal of public executions, but Orczy may have a biased opinion based on her experience as a noble fleeing the Hungarian peasant revolution during her lifetime. (Chapter 1)

2. He posed as an old woman collecting hair from the victims of the guillotine and told the guard her grandson, who was traveling with her, was sick with smallpox or the plague. (Chapter 1)

3. Sir Percy is described as a foolish man who makes boring conversation but is generally well liked and fashionable. He is the wealthiest man in England. (Various chapters)

5. Sir Percy has heard of Marguerite’s involvement in the condemnation of the Marquis de St Cyr and feels contempt for what she has done. (Chapter 7)

Chapters 10-19

Reading Check

1. Execute him (Chapter 10)

2. A note (Chapter 12)

3. In the supper-room (Chapter 13)

4. By pretending to be asleep (Chapter 14)

5. He leaves to help Armand. (Chapter 17)

6. A gold ring embossed with a pimpernel flower (Chapter 18)

Short Answer

1. Chauvelin, a French revolutionary, has set out to hunt down the Scarlet Pimpernel and kill him. The English and French nobility in the novel support the Scarlet Pimpernel because of his heroism. Marguerite, resenting that Chauvelin is blackmailing her to discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel, affirms the Vicomte’s statement by expressing her admiration for him as well. Because the characters disagree on the Scarlet Pimpernel, there is tension between them until Sir Percy makes light of the situation with a joke. (Chapter 11)

2. The marquis ordered her brother to be beaten because Armand, a peasant, had dared to fall in love with the marquis’s daughter. (Various chapters)

3. She decides that Percy must be smarter than she had assumed, because he can do all the paperwork in his study. She concludes that his façade must serve some purpose in society. (Chapter 18)

4. When Suzanne tells her the Scarlet Pimpernel departed for France the same day Percy left, Marguerite concludes that they are the same person. (Chapter 19)

Chapters 20-31

Reading Check

1. Andrew (Chapter 20)

2. Run away together (Chapter 21)

3. Chauvelin (Chapter 23)

4. Chauvelin (Chapter 23)

5. A Jewish man named Reuben (Chapter 26)

6. She is captured by Chauvelin and his men. (Chapter 28)

7. No one; it is empty. (Chapter 30)

8. Percy (Chapter 31)

Short Answer

1. He pats Chauvelin on the back until he coughs into his soup, then replaces his snuff with pepper, causing Chauvelin to sneeze, which gives Percy the chance to depart. (Chapter 25)

2. Percy, knowing that the French keep their distance from Jews, uses the disguise of a Jewish man to stay near Chauvelin, but not too close. (Chapter 31)