Epitaph Trivia Quiz

Answer: illness

The third of the four March sisters whose stories are told in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" (1868-69), Elizabeth "Beth" March is 13 years old at the beginning of the novel. An accomplished pianist, she is shy, quiet and sweet-natured, always ready to make peace when her sisters argue, and wiser beyond her years. She is also very attached to her home and feels no desire to leave it.

Unfortunately, during a visit to a poor German family in the neighbourhood whose children are sick with scarlet fever, the good-hearted Beth contracts the disease, which permanently weakens her health. In the book's second half, after Meg has got married and Jo has started her career as a writer, Beth's health takes a turn for the worse. Jo, always very close to her younger sister, devotes herself to Beth's care, but the young woman - already resigned to her fate - eventually succumbs.

The character of Beth March was directly inspired by Alcott's sister Elizabeth (Lizzie), who died of the consequences of scarlet fever in 1858, at the age of 22. Like Beth, Elizabeth Alcott believed that her life was not as important as those of her sisters and refused treatment before she died.

Answer: illness

The main character of Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote" ("El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha", 1605-1615) is a Spanish nobleman from La Mancha named Don Alonso Quixano. As he is about to turn 50, his obsession with tales of chivalric romance overcomes him. He starts living in a fantasy world in which he becomes the knight errant Don Quixote, his old workhorse the steed Rocinante and peasant girl Aldonza Lorenzo a beautiful lady named Dulcinea del Toboso. His neighbour, farm labourer Sancho Panza, will later become his faithful squire.

Many of Don Quixote's farcical adventures are well known, in particular his fight against some windmills that he believes to be giants. During these adventures the hero occasionally recovers his sanity, though these periods of lucidity do not last long. At the end of Part 2, Don Quixote is defeated in a duel and returns to his home, where he is suddenly taken ill with a fever - a likely result of depression. After six days in bed - during which Sancho never leaves his bedside and his friends visit him regularly - he falls deeply asleep. He wakes up having regained his senses and dedicates his final days to making his peace with God and drawing up his will - as well as declaring his utter contempt for chivalric romances.

Cervantes framed his novel as a metafictional narrative - pretending it was the translation of a text originally written in Arabic by a Moorish historian.

Answer: illness

Fantine may very well be the most tragic character in Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" (1862) - a massive novel that certainly does not stint on heartbreaking events. The beautiful, naïve young woman, who moved to Paris from the province as a teenager, is abandoned by her lover and gives birth to a daughter, Cosette. She leaves Cosette with the abusive Thénardiers and goes back to her hometown to work in a factory owned by Mayor Madeleine - one of the aliases of Jean Valjean, the novel's central character. Dismissed by a female supervisor for being an unwed mother, Fantine is forced into extreme measures to find money to pay the Thénardiers - first selling her hair and two front teeth, then prostitution.

Fantine falls ill with tuberculosis (known at the time as consumption), a condition that was incurable at the time. When she is arrested by Inspector Javert for attacking an abusive customer, Valjean learns of her plight and sends her to a hospital. There she witnesses a confrontation between her benefactor and Javert, his archenemy, and - weakened by the disease - dies of shock when she learns that Cosette is not with Valjean and that the latter is a convict. After Fantine's tragic death, Valjean takes Cosette away from the Thénardiers and brings her up as his daughter.

In the iconic musical adaptation of "Les Misérables", Fantine dies peacefully with Valjean at her side, entrusting Cosette to him. Her heart-wrenching song "I Dreamed a Dream" has been covered by many high-profile artists.

Answer: execution

In Charles Dickens' highly popular historical novel "A Tale of Two Cities" (1859), Sidney Carton is a gifted but jaded English barrister, described as incapable of taking advantage of his natural talent and deeply frustrated by his situation. He is introduced in the novel's second book during the trial of French émigré Charles Darnay, accused of treason, whom he strongly resembles. Carton falls in love with young Frenchwoman Lucie Manette - who, however, sees him as a friend and eventually marries Darnay (who is revealed to be the nephew of a marquis). The couple settle in England and Carton becomes a close friend of both.

Before Lucie's wedding to Darnay, Carton promised her to embrace any sacrifice for her and her loved ones. A few years later, the advent of the French Revolution puts Carton's promise to the test. In 1792 Darnay goes back to France and is arrested as an aristocrat. Released after 15 months, he is arrested again on the same day. His new trial, based on denunciations by the Defarges, a couple of staunch Revolutionaries who want to avenge themselves on Charles for wrongs done to them by his uncle, ends with Charles being sentenced to death.

In a daring, selfless act, Carton swaps places with his friend to allow him and his family to live out their lives in peace - as he prophesies in his final vision when facing the guillotine, implying that his sacrifice has given meaning to his life: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done [...]"

Answer: execution

The protagonist of Thomas Hardy's 1892 novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", Tess Durbeyfield is described in the novel's subtitle as "a pure woman faithfully presented". At the beginning of the story, Tess is a 16-year-old country girl who is erroneously led to believe her family is related to the wealthy d'Urbervilles. Tess becomes acquainted with Mrs d'Urberville and her son Alec, who hires the young girl as a poultry keeper and presses his attentions on her. Raped by the young man, Tess falls pregnant, but her child does not survive.

A few years later, the unfortunate Tess - who is trying to put her past behind - falls in love with Angel Clare. The pair get married, but when Tess confesses her past to him, he rejects her angrily and leaves England for Brazil. Things go downhill from there: to help her destitute family, Tess becomes Alec's mistress and sends Angel away when he comes back asking for forgiveness. Then she stabs Alec to death and confesses her deed to Angel. The two spend five blissful days together in an empty house before Tess is arrested at Stonehenge. Angel and Tess's sister, 'Liza-Lu, whom Angel has promised to marry, watch from a hill as a black flag is raised - signaling, in Hardy's own words, that "'Justice' was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess."

The novel's heartbreaking conclusion was inspired by the hanging of a woman, Elizabeth Martha Brown, who had murdered her violent husband, witnessed by Hardy when he was 16.

Answer: execution

Milady de Winter is one of the main antagonists in Alexandre Dumas père's novel "The Three Musketeers" (1844). Introduced as a spy for Cardinal Richelieu, she is a beautiful woman in her late twenties with a particularly seductive voice - the stereotypical "femme fatale", manipulative, cunning and ruthless. In the first part of the book, she is charged with seducing the Duke of Buckingham, the English Prime Minister and Queen Anne's lover, and stealing two diamonds gifted to him by the Queen with a view to blackmailing her. D'Artagnan and the other musketeers, however, thwart her mission, earning her implacable enmity.

Despite her English name, Milady is a Frenchwoman: she is later revealed to be the wife of Athos, one of the titular three musketeers, who originally knew her as Anne de Breuil. Her marriage to Lord de Winter (who is believed to have been poisoned by her) is thus invalid. When D'Artagnan, who spends a night with her under false pretenses, learns that she is a criminal marked with the fleur-de-lys, she swears to have him killed. While her efforts in that respect are foiled, she manages to murder Constance Bonacieux, with whom D'Artagnan is in love. At the end of the novel, Milady is tried by the main characters and sentenced to death by beheading - ironically, by the same executioner who branded her years before.

Her son by Lord the Winter, Mordaunt, appears as one of the main antagonists in the sequel "Twenty Years After" (1845).

Answer: execution

John Coffey is one of the main characters of Stephen King's novel "The Green Mile" (1996), set during the Great Depression. Coffey is an inmate in the Louisiana prison where narrator Paul Edgecomb works as a death row supervisor. In 1932, they year in which the story is set, he arrives at the prison after having been convicted of the rape and murder of two white girls. Though intimidating because of his sheer size, Coffey is shy, gentle-natured and somewhat simple-minded.

Over time, Coffey starts displaying uncanny powers of empathy with the feelings and thoughts of people around him, as well as the ability to heal by drawing a disease into his body through his hands. It eventually becomes clear to Paul that John is innocent and that another inmate is guilty of the hideous crime of which John has been convicted. After revealing the truth of what happened, John declines Paul's help and tells him that he is ready to die because he wants to escape the cruelty of the world and the constant pain it inflicts on him. John's execution by electric chair is the last in which Paul participates before transferring to another correctional institution. Before the sentence is carried out, John - who is afraid of the dark - asks Paul not to cover his face with the traditional black hood.

Shortly after its release, "The Green Mile" was adapted into a critically and commercially successful film (1999), directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tom Hanks as Paul and Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey.

Answer: suicide

One of the most famous literary suicides along with Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Emma Bovary is the protagonist of Gustave Flaubert's debut novel "Madame Bovary" (1856). A beautiful, convent-educated girl whose worldview is shaped by the romance novels she loves to read, Emma Rouault marries a widowed health officer, Charles Bovary. However, she soon begins to find married life dull and uninspiring and comes to despise her husband for not being successful.

Emma's frustrated ambitions lead her into an affair with Rodolphe, a wealthy landowner who a few years later brutally ends their relationship, and then with young law clerk Léon. She also gets heavily into debt to indulge her desire for fashionable clothing and other luxury items. When her debt is called in, Emma seeks help from her former lovers and other people, but they all turn her down. Overwhelmed by despair, she commits suicide by swallowing arsenic. Her agonizing death is described by Flaubert in unflinching detail. Her suicide destroys not only her husband, who is forced to sell all his possessions and dies soon afterwards, but also her young daughter, left to face a life of poverty.

Emma Bovary's tragic story was inspired by the life of one of Flaubert's school friends. When it was first published, the novel caused a scandal and was subjected to an obscenity trial, which however ended with the author's acquittal.

Answer: suicide

Bertha Antoinetta Mason is Edward Rochester's first wife in Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre" (1847). Though she is introduced only in Chapter 26 of the novel's third edition, her character is essential to the story's development. Readers learn about her background through Rochester's words: she was a beautiful young woman of Creole heritage (thus implied to be of mixed race), whom Rochester married for her wealth and beauty though being unaware that insanity and intellectual disability ran in her family. When the pair were still living in Jamaica, Bertha's mental health began to deteriorate, eventually forcing Rochester to move back to England and have her imprisoned on the third floor of his house, Thornfield Hall.

Bertha's presence manifests itself, like a malevolent ghost, before Rochester and Jane's wedding - which is interrupted by Bertha's brother. Heartbroken at the revelation, Jane leaves Thornfield Hall, but after some time is called back by a sense of foreboding. When she gets there, she finds the house in ruins: finally overcome by her madness, Bertha set fire to Thornfield Hall and then jumped from the roof to her death. In his attempt to save her from the flames, Rochester was severely injured. Now that Rochester is free to marry, a happy ending ensues for him and Jane.

Bertha's story is told from her own point of view in Jean Rhys' 1966 novel "Wide Sargasso Sea", meant as a prequel to "Jane Eyre".

Answer: suicide

The protagonist of Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" (1949), Willy Loman is a 63-year-old travelling salesman whose mental condition is deteriorating after a near-fatal car accident. The play, subtitled "Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem", is set in the Loman family's Brooklyn home in the 1940s. Exhausted by a lifetime of constant travel, Willy has escaped into a fantasy world in which he is successful and popular. He is also worried about his eldest son Biff, who at 34 has not yet found his purpose in life.

Willy attempts to persuade his boss to give him a job in New York, but his boss refuses, ignoring over three decades of loyalty to the company. When Willy, in frustration, loses his temper, he is fired. At the same time Biff is experiencing his own professional failure. The cracks in Willy's relationship with his family are revealed through a flashback. Further losing his grip on reality, Willy decides to take his own life by crashing his car to allow Biff to cash in his life insurance and start his own business. The final scene takes place at Willy's sparsely attended funeral. Though Biff turns his back on his dreams of becoming a businessman, Willy's sacrifice at least allows the family to pay off their debts.

The play has been widely interpreted as a sharp indictment of the American Dream, which - like many of the events in the plot - is shown to be an illusion and a lie.

Answer: suicide

In Virgil's epic poem "Aeneid" (ca. 19 BC), Dido is the queen of Carthage, who offers hospitality to Aeneas and his companions after their escape from the ruins of Troy. A brave, resourceful woman, she fled her hometown of Tyre after her brother had murdered her husband to steal his wealth, and landed on the coast of North Africa, where she founded the city that would later become a great sea power. When Aeneas and his men arrive in Carthage, they are welcomed warmly by the queen, who - owing to the machinations of Venus, Aeneas' divine mother - falls in love with the hero despite having sworn never to remarry.

Caught by a storm during a hunt, Dido and Aeneas take refuge in a cave, where Juno (who wants to prevent Aeneas from reaching Italy) presides over what Dido interprets as a marriage ceremony. Unfortunately, news of this marriage spreads, and Jupiter sends Mercury to Aeneas to remind him of the destiny he must fulfill. The hero tries to hide his preparations for departure, but the queen discovers his intentions. Refusing to accept his explanations, Dido is heartbroken and commits suicide with Aeneas' sword. Before dying, she foresees the enmity that will pit her people against Aeneas' descendants - a reference to the Punic Wars fought by Rome against Carthage.

Dido's tragic fate has been the subject of many works of art, literature and music throughout the centuries

Answer: murder

Jay Gatsby is the hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (1925), one of the undisputed candidates to the title of "Great American Novel". A young man by the real name of James Gatz, originally from a poor Midwestern family, he is a WWI veteran who becomes a millionaire through bootlegging (producing and selling alcohol illegally) during Prohibition. His shady business activities, however, have the sole purpose of winning back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, who is married to the wealthy Tom Buchanan.

The reader watches Gatsby's tragic story unfold through the eyes of Nick Carraway, his idealistic neighbour and Daisy's cousin, who becomes involved in the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby to impress the young woman. Gatsby and Daisy reconnect and begin an affair that has tragic consequences. While driving Gatsby's car, Daisy fatally hits Myrtle, her husband Tom's mistress. Gatsby takes the blame and is shot dead in his swimming pool by George, Myrtle's distraught husband.

"The Great Gatsby" was based on Fitzgerald's own experiences - in particular his youthful romance with socialite Ginevra King. The novel also conveys the author's disillusionment with the American Dream and the myth of the self-made man.

Answer: murder

In Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1960), set during the Great Depression in the fictional Alabama town of Maycomb, Tom Robinson is a hard-working Black man accused of raping a white woman. His trial provides the focal point of the plot. Lawyer Atticus Finch, the father of young narrator Scout, is appointed to defend Tom, who has been accused by Mayella Ewell, a young white woman with a violent father. Atticus takes his difficult task very seriously, despite the hostile attitude of many of the townspeople.

After preventing a group of men from lynching Tom, Scout, her brother Jem and their friend Dill watch the trial from the balcony of the courthouse reserved for people of colour. Though Atticus manages to prove that Mayella and her father are lying, Tom is convicted and taken to prison. Atticus plans to appeal in the hope of overturning the verdict, but shortly afterwards Tom is shot and killed when trying to escape custody.

While Tom Robinson was shot by prison guards during an escape attempt, it might easily be said that he was murdered by the intolerance and racial prejudice that refused to accept his innocence. Indeed, a local reporter, Mr Underwood, compares his death to "a senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children".

Answer: murder

In "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), Oscar Wilde's only novel, Basil Hallward is the artist who paints the titular portrait. Infatuated with his subject - a naïve young man of great physical beauty - Basil introduces Dorian to cynical Lord Henry Wootton, who corrupts him with his hedonistic worldview. Convinced by Wootton that beauty is the only thing in life worth pursuing, Dorian wishes for his portrait to age in his stead - a wish he is eventually granted. His unhappy love affair with young actress Sibyl Vane, who kills herself when Dorian rejects her, is the tipping point of the story.

In his relentless pursuit of pleasure, Dorian neglects his friendship with Basil for nearly two decades. Increasingly worried after hearing rumours of Dorian's debauchery, Basil confronts him: Dorian takes him to see the portrait, which is so hideously deformed that the painter can only identify it by his signature. The horrified artist begs his friend to repent but is stabbed to death by Dorian for his pains. The plot then descends into horror territory when Dorian has his friend's body dissolved into acid. At the novel's climactic end, Dorian stabs his portrait with the same knife he used to kill Basil - killing himself in the process.

In a letter he wrote in 1894, Wilde stated that he identified himself with Basil, while Lord Henry was what the world thought he was, and Dorian what he would have liked to be.

Answer: murder

The mythical king of the city of Mycenae and the leader of the Greek host in the Trojan War, Agamemnon appears in several works of classical literature - notably Homer's "Iliad" and the first part of Aeschylus' trilogy "Oresteia" (485 BC), which bears his name. Though in Aeschylus' tragedy he makes only a brief appearance, the plot pivots around his homecoming from the Trojan War and the tragic events that follow.

During her husband's long absence, Clytemnestra has taken Aegisthus, Agamemnon's cousin, as a lover. The two plan to murder Agamemnon not only to seize power, but as an act of revenge for the killing of Iphigenia, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's daughter, who was sacrificed to allow good winds to carry the Greek fleet to Troy. The proud, arrogant king - whose actions have alienated part of the citizenship - is lavishly welcomed by his wife, who has purple tapestries laid under his feet, symbolizing the blood that is about to be shed. When he goes to the baths, he is stabbed to death. The Trojan prophetess Cassandra, Agamemnon's captive and concubine, who has predicted everything without being believed, is killed along with him.

In the trilogy's second part, "The Libation Bearers", Clytemnestra is killed in revenge by her son Orestes. The bloody cycle of vengeance, due to a series of curses, which ravaged the House of Atreus for generations finally ends in "The Eumenides" though Athena's intervention.