Lappin and Lapinova – Virginia Woolf

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The story at a glance

"Lappin and Lapinova" by Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), first drafted around 1919 and published in 1939; later collected in×A Haunted House and Other Short Stories×(1944).
Told by a third-person narrator, it follows the first years of the marriage of Rosalind and Ernest Thorburn.
Rosalind invents a private fantasy: Ernest is King Lappin, a rabbit (×lapin×is French for rabbit), and she is Queen Lapinova, a hare. The game keeps their marriage alive.
When Ernest stops playing, Lapinova "dies" — and "So that was the end of that marriage."
Key ideas: imagination and escape, marriage and identity, class and family, male indifference, the fragility of love.

Beginning the game

Newly married, Rosalind still cannot get used to being Mrs Ernest Thorburn — "Ernest" is a difficult name for her — a hint of unease.
One morning she notices his nose twitches like a rabbit's: he looks less like "Ernest" than like a rabbit.
She names him King Lappin; he joins in, calling her Lapinova, a hare — wild, small and elusive.
They build a whole private world of imaginary woods and creatures, which only they share.
Through the first months the fantasy gives them intimacy and gives Rosalind a sense of self.

The golden wedding

Rosalind, an only child and an orphan, dreads the fiftieth wedding anniversary (the golden wedding) of Ernest's parents; Ernest comes from a large, wealthy family.
The Thorburns fill a grand drawing-room of satin wallpaper and gleaming family portraits; the gifts are solid gold, hall-marked — Rosalind's modest present seems out of place.
The living Thorburns look like their portraits and trade cruel schoolroom jokes (pulling away the governess's chair).
At dinner a guest remarks of rabbits, "They breed so", and a cousin shouts that they should be shot and jumped on "with big boots" — the family's view of wild creatures.
Rosalind catches Ernest's eye; his nose twitches — Lappin is there — and she escapes into fantasy, seeing the Thorburns as creatures (Celia, the unmarried sister, as a white ferret; old Mr Thorburn as a poacher).

The end of the game

Over time Ernest grows impatient with the game; the fantasy fades.
One night Rosalind wakes in panic: "I thought my rabbit was dead!" Ernest: "Don't talk such rubbish, Rosalind… Lie down and go to sleep." He is soon snoring.
The next day she is restless, as if she has lost something.
When Ernest comes home she tells him Lapinova is gone. He straightens his tie at the looking-glass: "Yes… Poor Lapinova…", "Caught in a trap… killed" — and sits down to read the newspaper.
Final line: "So that was the end of that marriage."

Methods

Fairy-tale / fable elements: a king and queen, animals, an enchanted kingdom — set against the dull realities of a gentry family.
Symbolism: the rabbit (Ernest, domesticated, breeding, hunted), the hare (Rosalind, wild, solitary, vulnerable), the trap (marriage and convention), gold (the family's wealth and solidity).
Free indirect style: we slip into Rosalind's thoughts and fantasies.
Contrast: the vivid private world vs the stiff, loud Thorburn world.
Abrupt ending: one flat sentence ends the marriage — shocking and ambiguous.
Section B pairings: "A Story of a Wedding Tour" (a woman trapped in marriage), "The Nightingale and the Rose" (fantasy vs indifference), "Indian Summer of an Uncle" (marriage and class).

Themes and interpretations

Imagination as survival: the fantasy gives Rosalind an identity against Ernest's powerful family.
Marriage and identity: she struggles to become "Mrs Ernest Thorburn"; losing Lapinova is losing herself.
Male indifference and control: Ernest's practical, impatient masculinity finally "kills" the game.
Class: the solid-gold, hunting Thorburns vs the orphaned, dreamy outsider.
Readers debate: is the fantasy what held the marriage together, or what hid its emptiness? Is Rosalind escaping, or trapped?

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Câu hỏi luyện tập

Xem trước miễn phí — 8 trên 38 câu hỏi. Đăng ký để xem tất cả.

1.Who wrote 'Lappin and Lapinova'?
Easy
- AVirginia Woolf
- BKatherine Mansfield
- CMargaret Oliphant
- DJane Austen
2.Who are the married couple in the story?
Easy
- AJaney and Mr Rosendale
- BKatie and Geoffrey
- CRegina and Horace
- DRosalind and Ernest Thorburn
3.What animal does Rosalind think Ernest resembles?
Easy
- AA hare
- BA ferret
- CA rabbit
- DA fox
4.What does 'lapin' mean in French?
Easy
- ALove
- BRabbit
- CKing
- DHare
5.What animal is Lapinova?
Medium
- AA hare
- BA rabbit
- CA ferret
- DA bird
6.What does the fantasy give the couple?
Medium
- AMoney
- BFame
- CA new house
- DA private world of intimacy that only they share
7.What occasion does Rosalind dread?
Medium
- AA funeral
- BChristmas
- CThe golden wedding of Ernest's parents
- DHer own wedding
8.How are the Thorburns' anniversary gifts described?
Medium
- AFlowers
- BSolid gold, hall-marked
- CHomemade
- DBooks

Thêm câu hỏi

9.Why is Rosalind's background significant at the party?
Medium
- AAs an only child and orphan she feels an outsider in the large Thorburn family
- BShe is a famous singer
- CShe is related to the Thorburns
- DShe hosts the party
10.What do the dinner remarks about rabbits ('They breed so'; shoot them) suggest?
Medium
- AThey love animals
- BThey are vegetarian
- CThey keep pet rabbits
- DThe Thorburns' hostility to wild creatures — and to Rosalind's private world
11.How does Rosalind cope at the dinner?
Medium
- AShe argues with the family
- BShe joins their jokes
- CShe catches Ernest's twitching nose and escapes into fantasy
- DShe leaves the house
12.As what creature does Rosalind imagine Celia?
Medium
- AA fox
- BA white ferret
- CA rabbit
- DA hare
13.What does Rosalind cry when she wakes in the night?
Medium
- AI thought my rabbit was dead!
- BWhere is Lapinova?
- CErnest, wake up!
- DThe house is on fire!
14.How does Ernest respond at the end when Rosalind says Lapinova is gone?
Medium
- AHe comforts her tenderly
- BHe plays the game again
- CHe goes to find her
- D'Caught in a trap… killed' — then reads the newspaper
15.What is the final line?
Medium
- ALappin was king again.
- BShe never saw Ernest again.
- CSo that was the end of that marriage.
- DAnd they lived happily ever after.
16.What does the 'trap' in which Lapinova is caught most likely symbolise?
Medium
- AMoney problems
- BMarriage and convention that crush Rosalind's imaginative self
- CA real hunting trap
- DA mistake by Ernest
17.What does Ernest straightening his tie at the looking-glass suggest?
Medium
- AHe is absorbed in his conventional, outward self, indifferent to her loss
- BHe is going out to rescue Lapinova
- CHe is nervous
- DHe is getting married
18.Which interpretation is best supported?
Medium
- AThe marriage was always perfect
- BErnest is secretly a rabbit
- CRosalind hated the game
- DThe fantasy held the marriage together; when Ernest abandons it, nothing remains
19.Which fairy-tale elements appear? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AA detective
- BA spaceship
- CA king and queen
- DTalking or imagined animals
- EAn enchanted private kingdom
20.Which details show the Thorburns' world? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AA shared love of hares
- BSatin wallpaper and family portraits
- CSolid gold gifts
- DCruel schoolroom jokes
- EA tiny rented flat
21.Which themes does the story explore? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AImagination and escape
- BMarriage and identity
- CMale indifference
- DWar heroism
- EDetective work
22.Rosalind finds it hard to get used to being 'Mrs Ernest Thorburn'.
Easy
True or false?
23.Ernest refuses to join the game from the beginning.
Easy
True or false?
24.Rosalind comes from a large family.
Easy
True or false?
25.The Thorburns' drawing-room has gleaming family portraits.
Medium
True or false?
26.Ernest gently comforts Rosalind when she wakes in the night.
Medium
True or false?
27.The story is narrated in the third person.
Medium
True or false?
28.The story explains in detail what happens to the couple after the marriage ends.
Medium
True or false?
29.Match each figure to their fantasy identity.
Medium
- Ernest
- Rosalind
- Celia
- Old Mr Thorburn
- King Lappin, a rabbit
- Queen Lapinova, a hare
- A white ferret
- A poacher
30.Match each symbol to its meaning.
Medium
- The hare
- The trap
- The solid gold gifts
- The newspaper
- Rosalind's wild, solitary self
- Marriage and convention
- The Thorburns' wealth and solidity
- Ernest's indifference
31.Put these events in order.
Medium
- Ernest says 'Caught in a trap… killed'
- Rosalind notices Ernest's nose twitch
- The golden wedding dinner
- Rosalind wakes crying that her rabbit is dead
32.Complete the sentence.
Easy
Ernest becomes King ____ in Rosalind's fantasy.
33.Complete the final line.
Medium
So that was the end of that ____.
34.Complete Ernest's words.
Medium
Caught in a ____, killed.
35.What does Ernest read after declaring Lapinova dead?
Easy
36.What is the name of the Thorburns' unmarried daughter?
Medium
37.Explain the role of the Lappin and Lapinova fantasy in the marriage.
Medium
38.Explore how Woolf presents the ending of the story.
Hard

Ghi chú ôn tập

## Overview - Virginia Woolf, drafted c.1919, published **1939**. Third person; free indirect style. ## Plot - Newly married **Rosalind** can't get used to being "Mrs Ernest Thorburn". His **nose twitches** → **King Lappin** (rabbit; *lapin*); she is **Queen Lapinova** (hare). A private world. - **Golden wedding** of Ernest's parents: Rosalind (only child, orphan) dreads it; satin wallpaper, portraits, **solid gold** gifts; cruel schoolroom jokes; "**They breed so**"; rabbits to be shot. Ernest's nose twitches; she imagines **Celia** as a white **ferret**, old Mr Thorburn as a **poacher**. - Ernest tires of the game. Night: "**I thought my rabbit was dead!**" — "Don't talk such rubbish, Rosalind." - Next evening: tie at the looking-glass; "Poor Lapinova… **Caught in a trap… killed**"; newspaper. "**So that was the end of that marriage.**" ## Themes - Imagination and escape; marriage and identity; male indifference; class; fragility of love.

Lapin: French for rabbit — the root of 'Lappin'.
Free indirect style: Third-person narration that takes on a character's thoughts.
Symbolism: Rabbit, hare, trap and gold carry deeper meanings.
Golden wedding: A fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Fantasy: An imagined world — Lappin and Lapinova's kingdom.
Abrupt ending: A sudden, brief conclusion — 'So that was the end of that marriage.'
Hall-marked: Officially stamped to prove precious metal is genuine.
Ambiguity: Openness to more than one interpretation.

Thẻ ghi nhớ

Who are the couple?

Rosalind and Ernest Thorburn.

How does the fantasy begin?

Rosalind sees Ernest's nose twitch like a rabbit's.

Their fantasy names?

King Lappin (rabbit) and Queen Lapinova (hare).

What does 'lapin' mean?

Rabbit (French).

What party does Rosalind dread?

The golden wedding (50th anniversary) of Ernest's parents.

What are the anniversary gifts like?

Solid gold, hall-marked.

Dinner remark about rabbits?

'They breed so' — and they should be shot.

Night-time cry?

'I thought my rabbit was dead!'

Ernest's final words about Lapinova?

'Poor Lapinova… Caught in a trap… killed' — then he reads the newspaper.

Last line?

'So that was the end of that marriage.'

Key debate?

Did the fantasy sustain the marriage or hide its emptiness?

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