My Less Well Known Sibling Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mary

Poor Mary. She doesn't have the looks, the grace, or the appeal of the other four sisters in this great work by Jane Austen. In an attempt to make herself shine in some way, she develops a ponderous, wordy, would-be intellectual style of discourse. She makes the dullest of pronouncements at the most unlikely times during the story.

In this, she is frequently put in her place by Lizzie who is trying to protect her from ridicule, as well as shutting her up. It is only after her four sisters have left the family home at this conclusion of the novel that Mary, we are told, comes into her own. Now the centre of attention in the family nest, she drops her boring speech mannerisms and becomes a rather more fully rounded and confident individual.

Answer: Goneril

King Lear was once a great leader of his people. He has three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. The play begins with Lear announcing that he is to give up his throne and divide his lands between the three daughters. He will give the best share to the daughter who can prove she loves him best. Goneril and Regan, the two eldest, give great and flowery (and mostly false) speeches about their love for their father. When it comes to Cordelia's turn, the daughter who does truly love her father, and whom he loves best, she refuses to take part in the charade and states bluntly that she loves him according to her bond and no more. From there the play degenerates into a full blown tragedy. Regan is poisoned by Goneril, Goneril commits suicide, Cordelia is murdered and King Lear, who has gone temporarily insane, dies of a broken heart.

The play of course is far more complicated than this, but these are the bones of it. It's gory in parts, and horrifying and sad in others. The most moving part of the play is the sight of King Lear, distraught with grief, carrying the dead Cordelia in his arms and the broken-hearted words which accompany this scene. It gets me every time.

Answer: Aron

Set in California, the main part of this work tells the story of the twin sons (Caleb and Aron) of an unbalanced and murderous mother and a decent, hard-working father. The biblical theme of the rivalry between Cain and Abel parallels this work, as does the pivotal question of pre-destination versus free will. There is also an earlier story of the rivalry between the boys' father and his own brother.

On reaching adulthood, the darker-skinned Caleb decides to work as a farmer, while the fairer Aron chooses to become a priest - a shepherd of men. Their father, Adam, has in the meantime, lost the family fortune. Don't you love the biblical parallels? Caleb, who is the more troubled of the two boys, discovers that his mother, who had left the family home long ago, still exists and is running the darkest of brothels. Lovely reference to Eve, I don't think. They blamed women for everything, those old boys.

He also decides, in an attempt to win his father's approval, to restore the family fortune. As a result, he manages to acquire much wealth through his exploitation of desperate farmers. On the same night as Aron's return from his studies and his decision to quit those studies, Caleb, to draw his father's attention back to himself, decides to present his father with a large sum of money. To his dismay, his father refuses to accept it, and tells Caleb to return it instead to the farmers he exploited. Not knowing that Aron is dropping out of his studies, he then holds Aron up to Caleb as an example of all that is desirable in a son. As a result of this, Caleb, in a fit of jealousy, takes Aron to the brothel and reveals to him what their mother has become. Aron is horrified and refuses to have anything to do with her. This rejection causes their mother to commit suicide. Before she does however, she signs over her own ill-begotten fortune to Aron.

Aron, in reaction, enlists in World War I and is promptly killed. In the interim, Caleb falls in love with Aron's old girlfriend, and she redeems him from his own dark nature. Adam has a stroke but is persuaded before the novel closes to forgive the dark-browed Caleb and give him his blessing. His blessing though comes in the form of an ambiguous word meaning "power to choose". Caleb has been awarded the power of choice over his own life and the future direction this will take.

Answer: No

That was Esau in the story of Isaac's twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau had been working hard in the fields, and was so hungry on his return that he asked Jacob, munching away on a bowl of stew, for some. Jacob, we learn, said he'd sell it to him in exchange for Esau's birthright. The starving Esau agreed. Jacob is involved in further duplicity later in the story when he tricks his old blind father into believing that he, Jacob, was really Esau and thus earned the blessing from the old man, one that rightfully belonged to Esau.

So, who was the villain of the piece? Esau who sold his birthright because he was ravenous, or Jacob who was devious enough to take advantage of that hunger and who subsequently pulled the wool over his poor father's eyes? Or even their mother Rebekah, who favoured Jacob over Esau, and who came up with the plan to deceive Isaac in such a way in the first place? Esau was supposed to become the leader of the family on the death of his father, the leader of his people, and the heir to all God's promises to Abraham. Instead, Jacob scored it.

There is such a sad ending to that tale. When Esau heard his father was so ill, he rushed back to see him, just in time to witness all his birthright blessings being bestowed on to the tricky Jacob. In his distress, Esau called out, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." Then Esau broke down and wept. Poor thing, that's heart-rending.

Jacob subsequently went on to become the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, while Esau went on to become the father of the Edomites. Though Jacob and Esau eventually became friends again, their descendants were bitter enemies always. And all over a bowl of stew.

Answer: Oliver

This story is a light-hearted work by Shakespeare. It tells the story of the love between the beautiful Rosalind (the daughter of a usurped Duke) and Orlando (a young gentleman of the land). Orlando has been forced to flee for his life from his older brother Oliver. Rosalind, in the meantime, has been banished from court by the usurper (the younger brother of the Duke). Disguised as a page, she flees to a forest, where, unbeknownst to her, her father is now hiding. Her friend Celia, the daughter of the usurper, flees with her.

Orlando, in the meantime, finds the Duke and moves in with him, leaving love poems about his lost Rosalind scribbled on convenient trees every day. They meet, but she pretends, in her disguise as a page, that she can cure him of his love. A shepherdess, in the meantime, has fallen in love with Rosalind, believing her to be a male. A shepherd, just to make the play even more confusing, then falls in love with the shepherdess. Several other people also fall in love during this time as well.

They all come together in great confusion as to who is in love with whom, and Rosalind/page says she will solve it all. She has Orlando promise to marry Rosalind when he finds her, and the shepherdess promise to marry the shepherd if she cannot have the page. Right at this convenient time, Orlando sees his brother Oliver in the forest - about to be eaten by a lioness. He rescues Oliver, who repents and then promptly falls in love with Celia. In the final scene, everyone gets married. The wicked usuper has also repented, given the kingdom back to his brother the Duke, and joined a religious order. And it all ends happily, and comically, ever after.

Answer: Bianca

Kate is the elder sister in this work by Shakespeare. Her younger sister, Bianca, who has fallen in love, is not allowed to be married until her older sister has trotted down the aisle. Kate, however, is impossible to live with, and to control. She's the shrew in the story. Several other men in the play are also in love with Bianca. Two of these disguise themselves as tutors hired by her father to help improve Bianca's skills. One is Lucentio and the other is Hortensio.

Knowing that Bianca's father won't allow her to marry until the sharp-tongued Kate is wed, Hortensio arranges with a friend of his who has come to town to seek a wife and his fortune to woo Kate, so that Hortensio can further his chances with Bianca. Petruchio agrees, and goes about wooing Kate by doing the exact opposite of everything she expects and taking all her insults as words of love. The confused Kate allows herself to be betrothed to him and they are married. She has no intention of going home with him after the wedding when he becomes intoxicated and hits the priest. He kidnaps her however, and takes her home where he holds her captive, and refuses to feed or clothe her on the pretext that nothing is good enough for her. She finally realises what he's doing and changes tactics where she agrees with everything he says, even the most absurd of suggestions.

In the meantime, Lucentio is making progress in his courtship of Bianca, with of course various mishaps holding up the process. It's a Shakespearian comedy. They all have convoluted plots. It becomes incredibly confusing in fact with everyone on stage pretending to be someone else. It is eventually resolved by Lucentio and Bianca eloping, all the double identities being revealed and the fathers of the two lovers quite pleased with the outcome. The play ends with Kate giving a lecture to the other ladies present on the behaviour expected of a good wife - "love, fair looks and true obedience". Feminists today rebel at the presentation of this work, other people with barrows to push see in it a dreadful story of wife beating, abuse and brainwashing by deprivation. I vote we should give Shakespeare the benefit of the doubt and have Kate deliver that meekly submissive lecture to the other women - with her tongue firmly planted in her rebellious cheek, knowing full well that the best way to tame a husband is to allow that husband to believe he has tamed her.

Answer: The Pharaoh

When Moses was pulled out of the Nile by the daughter of the then Pharaoh, he was subsequently brought up as the step-brother of the child who would become the Pharaoh of the ten plagues in the Bible. Great would be the struggle between the two in later years when Moses was attempting to have the Pharaoh release the Israelites so that they could return to their Promised Land. It's to be understood why the Pharaoh resisted so bitterly. He would have lost a huge chunk of the work force in Egypt at that time, as well as their businesses and trades. That would be a huge blow to the prosperity of any country. As it eventuated, not only did Egypt lose these people, but also lost most of their huge army and the Pharaoh as well when they pursued the Israelites, and the Red Sea closed over them, drowning every one. Including the poor horses.

Well, every family has their little squabbles it seems.

Answer: Walter

Whereas Jem is the confident older brother of Anne's brood of children, Walter is quiet, shy and sensitive. He has a horror of violence of any sort, but is forced to fight twice during the series. Once is when he gives another boy a sound beating for bullying a girl.

He then grows sick at the thought of what he had done. The other is when, as an adult, he is constantly looked on with contempt by many people because of his reluctance to fight during the First World War. It's the thought of the violence this entails that is so repugnant to the sensitive lad's soul. Finally though, he does join, fights bravely on behalf of his country, but is finally killed in battle. Readers of the Anne books all mourned this tragic loss.

Answer: Edward

This play tells the story of the so-called evil Richard of York, who upon the taking of the English throne by his brother, Edward IV, reveals his jealousy of this event. It goes on to detail his subsequent machinations and various murders to gain the throne for himself. Blocking his path to that throne is his brother the King, another older brother, Clarence, and the two young sons of Edward, heirs to the throne on his death.

He begins by having his brother Clarence murdered. On the subsequent convenient death of Edward IV, who has stipulated that Richard is to serve as Protector until Edward's eldest son comes of age, Richard, Shakespeare informs us, goes about planning the death of the two boys. Before that takes place, several other murders are credited to Richard as well, including that of his own wife because he has a better, more politically suitable woman lined up to take her place. He subsequently organises for a murderer to kill the boys and assumes the title of the King of England himself. He is eventually murdered on the field of battle by the future Henry VII.

Another version follows:

Richard in fact was immensely loyal to his brother Edward, fighting and winning many battles on his behalf. His loyalty saw his brother restored to the throne during the long battles between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. He was awarded many lands in the north of England, and many awards for his loyalty, most of which involved extremely hard work. The people he ruled over saw him as a just and fair ruler and he was actually regarded with deep affection. His brother Edward, on the other hand, had their brother George executed for disloyalty. On Edward's death he assigned his children to Richard for protection, knowing this would indeed be the case. Those children were in danger, not from Richard, but from the House of Lancaster. Richard and the boys were from the House of York.

Henry VII, who killed Richard in battle, was the first of the Tudor kings and from the House of Lancaster. History is written by the victors. The Tudors, in their desire to cement their somewhat dubious claim to the throne of England weren't about to paint Richard in glowing colours. His reputation was deliberately blackened and rumours of the murder of the little Princes assigned to him. This was in spite of the fact that the children were seen alive by some after the death of Richard, but not seen after the Tudors took the throne. The Tudors too are likely suspects in the murders of those two future and rightful York claimants to the throne of England.

Shakespeare, writing for the Tudor Queen Elizabeth I was hardly going to sing Richard's praises. It would have meant his head. Therefore he too painted him as black as possible. Today in England, there are several societies hard at work to prove Richard's innocence and to clear his name. I hope they succeed.

Answer: Leah

Poor Leah loved Jacob with all her heart, and hoped he would fall in love with her. She allowed her father to trick Jacob into thinking he'd married Rachel, the girl he had loved from the moment he first set eyes on her. Her father achieved this by disguising Leah as Rachel on the wedding day - and Jacob married the wrong woman. He never did fall in love with Leah. He fathered seven children by her though, but continued to pine always for Rachel. Charming. When finally achieving his marriage to Rachel as well (those old boys were polygamists) plus two other women who were their handmaids, he still preferred Rachel above all others.

Barren at first, Rachel would eventually give him two sons, dying following the birth of the second. In the meantime, poor Leah tried her best to win Jacob's love. Each time she gave birth she made forlorn little remarks such as (1) "Surely my husband will love me now" or (2) "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too" or (3) "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons" and so on. It's quite sad. Jacob is not my hero.