SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · English Language and Comprehension · Question 28 of 150

We transcribed this text from the pictures of a candidate's response sheet for this paper; the answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic known for its humor and complex characters. The famous first sentence of the book, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," begins to set up all of the major themes of money, status, and marrying well that are prevalent in 19th-century England. The Bennet family, particularly Elizabeth Bennet, a smart and strong-willed heroine, is the subject of Austen’s commentary on the societal imperative for women to marry well and thereby have a stable income.
The title itself is quite meaningful, as it first indicates the character flaws that drive much of the conflict in this novel, namely Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice. In fact, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, being a rich and high-ranking person, first of all shows a haughty character, thereby being very superior by virtue of his class. Elizabeth, having been offended by his initial lack of warmth, as well as having been misled by the deceiving Mr. Wickham, very quickly showed prejudice against him.
Traces the story of each as they navigate these weaknesses. Darcy needs to lower his pride to appreciate the value of Elizabeth’s inferior standing, though she must see the strength of his superior qualities.
Austen employs irony and satire liberally to point out the absurdities of the class structure. Personages like the obsequious Mr. Collins and the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh symbolize the hard and silly aspects of class consciousness. The sojourn at Darcy’s grand estate, Pemberley, is an important defining instance in which the splendor of the property and the favorable reports of his servants compel Elizabeth to revise her earlier opinion and realize the truth of Darcy’s goodness.
In the final analysis, the novel promotes love marriages, couples like Jane and Bingley, and Elizabeth and Darcy, who have successful marriages because of love, in contrast to couples who marry for convenience (Charlotte Collins and Mr. Collins) or those who are full of passion but irresponsible (Lydia and Wickham).

How is the character of Lady Catherine de Bourgh employed in the novel as a criticism of society?

(a)She symbolizes ideal maternal love and wisdom.
(b)She represents the struggle of the working class against the landed gentry.
(c)She is purely comic relief and has no other significance.
(d)She represents social tyranny and class prejudice.

Answer

Why

Correct — D. The passage sets her inside its account of satire: 'Austen employs irony and satire liberally to point out the absurdities of the class structure.'

Then: 'Personages like the obsequious Mr. Collins and the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh symbolize the hard and silly aspects of class consciousness.'

Imperious means domineering, which is social tyranny, and her class consciousness is the class prejudice the option names → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
She symbolizes ideal maternal love and wisdom. — The reverse of the passage. It calls her imperious and a symbol of 'the hard and silly aspects of class consciousness': a target of satire, not an ideal of love or wisdom.
(b)
She represents the struggle of the working class against the landed gentry. — No working class appears in the passage. Lady Catherine stands for class consciousness itself, the attitude the satire attacks, not for anyone struggling against a class above them.
(c)
She is purely comic relief and has no other significance. — Purely and no other significance are the trap. 'Silly' allows comedy, but she also symbolizes 'the hard' aspects of class consciousness, which is criticism, not relief.

Concept

A 'how is X employed' question asks for a character's function, and this passage states it in its own verb: Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine 'symbolize' aspects of class consciousness, in a paragraph about irony and satire.

Satire mocks a fault in order to criticise it. An imperious, rank-proud character therefore stands for the tyranny and prejudice of class: the thing being criticised.

Key facts

Imperious means arrogant and domineering, expecting to be obeyed.
Obsequious means excessively eager to please or obey.
Satire uses humour, irony or exaggeration to expose and criticise folly or vice.
The passage says Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine 'symbolize the hard and silly aspects of class consciousness'.

Study next

Function-of-a-character questions in literary passagesCharacter words: imperious, obsequious, haughtySatire and irony as tools of social criticism

Common traps

Choosing comic relief because the passage calls such characters silly — it also calls them hard, and uses them 'to point out the absurdities of the class structure'
Choosing the working-class option because the question mentions class — the passage says nothing about a working class

On the same passage, 19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, English Q.27 puts Lady Catherine's arrogance among the wrong options: it is not what the title names.

19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, English Q.30 has wrong options built on the same kind of absolute word, alone and solely, as purely here.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic known for its humor and complex characters. The famous first sentence of the book, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," begins to set up all of the major themes of money, status, and marrying well that are prevalent in 19th-century England. The Bennet family, particularly Elizabeth Bennet, a smart and strong-willed heroine, is the subject of Austen’s commentary on the societal imperative for women to marry well and thereby have a stable income.
The title itself is quite meaningful, as it first indicates the character flaws that drive much of the conflict in this novel, namely Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice. In fact, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, being a rich and high-ranking person, first of all shows a haughty character, thereby being very superior by virtue of his class. Elizabeth, having been offended by his initial lack of warmth, as well as having been misled by the deceiving Mr. Wickham, very quickly showed prejudice against him.
Traces the story of each as they navigate these weaknesses. Darcy needs to lower his pride to appreciate the value of Elizabeth’s inferior standing, though she must see the strength of his superior qualities.
Austen employs irony and satire liberally to point out the absurdities of the class structure. Personages like the obsequious Mr. Collins and the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh symbolize the hard and silly aspects of class consciousness. The sojourn at Darcy’s grand estate, Pemberley, is an important defining instance in which the splendor of the property and the favorable reports of his servants compel Elizabeth to revise her earlier opinion and realize the truth of Darcy’s goodness.
In the final analysis, the novel promotes love marriages, couples like Jane and Bingley, and Elizabeth and Darcy, who have successful marriages because of love, in contrast to couples who marry for convenience (Charlotte Collins and Mr. Collins) or those who are full of passion but irresponsible (Lydia and Wickham).