The Princess and the Goblin

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-7

Reading Check

1. Where does Irene live?

2. How does Irene find her grandmother?

3. Where does Curdie work?

4. What does Irene promise Curdie when they part?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Lootie react to Irene’s claims about her grandmother, and why does she react this way?

2. What knowledge does Curdie possess about the goblins, and how does it help Irene?

3. What does Grandmother show Irene the second time Irene visits, and what does this indicate about Grandmother?

Paired Resource

Child Labor in Mines in Victorian England

• This brief article describes the conditions under which miners worked in the 1800s, as well as the prevalence of child labor and its effects on children’s education.
• Does Curdie exhibit what you might assume to be the traits and attitude of a child laborer in the mines? Does MacDonald’s story address the questionable nature of child labor during the Industrial Revolution?

Chapters 8-16

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the goblin who speaks out at the palace meeting?

2. What secret does the king find out about Lootie?

3. Who starts appearing on the farm grounds at night?

4. When does Grandmother tell Irene she must come back?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Grandmother tell Irene about Lootie and her lack of belief in Grandmother?

2. Why does Irene live apart from her father, and why does he not visit often?

3. What gift does Grandmother give Irene, and what is it for?

Paired Resource

“Faith”

• This poem by Frances Anne Kemble raises the question of whether faith and trust are beneficial even if they prove misguided/misplaced.
• Connects to the theme of Faith in the Mystical
• Do you agree that it’s important to have faith and trust in things you cannot necessarily prove? Why or why not?

Steenie or Redgauntlet Pursued by a Goblin on Horseback

• 1800s lithograph art by Eugène Delacroix showing a man being pursued on horseback by the artist’s interpretation of a goblin
• How does Delacroix’s depiction of a goblin compare to George MacDonald’s? Why do you think goblins are so often villainous figures in myth and fairy tale?

Chapters 17-24

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the goblin prince?

2. Where is Curdie put when he is captured?

3. How does Irene find Curdie?

4.     What does the prince want to do with Irene?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Curdie react when Irene tells him how she found him?

2. Why is Curdie unable to see Grandmother when Irene takes him to her?

3. What secret does Curdie’s mother tell Curdie, and how does this change his view?

Paired Resource

“Faith and Doubt Ted Talk”

• In this 15-minute Ted Talk, Greg Tonkinson shares his story of how he came to question his faith after a traumatic event; he believes that his experiences of doubt made his faith stronger in the end, much like Irene’s experiences in the novel.
• Teacher-appropriate (not student-facing); may help to inform your discussion with students on faith

Chapters 25-32

Reading Check

1. How is Curdie wounded when he is captured by the guards?

2. Where is Irene taken during the goblin attack?

3. What does Curdie instruct the guards to do in order to defeat the goblins?

4. What promise is fulfilled when Irene and Curdie reunite?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are the goblins’ two plans in taking revenge against the humans?

2. How do the goblins cause their own demise?

3. Who leads Curdie back to his cottage, and what does this mean about that person’s impression of Curdie?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

• In the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, Irene and Curdie work together against a new antagonist who seeks to poison Irene’s father and take the throne.
• Shared topics include good and evil and What It Means to Be a Princess.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

• Tolkien was heavily influenced by MacDonald’s work in terms of plot, characters, ideology, and more (see especially Tolkien’s depiction of goblins and the narratorial voice he adopts).
• Shared topics include good and evil, royalty, and friendship.
• The Hobbit on SuperSummary