Final Jeopardy: Fictional Characters (3-30-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (3/30/2026) in the category “Fictional Characters” was:
Literary theories say the first name of this 1847 title character is meant to evoke plainness while the last name hints at a bequest
11x champ Jamie Ding, a bureaucrat & law student from Lawrenceville, NJ, has now won $291,820. In Game 12, he is up against: Father Paul Baker, a Catholic priest from St. Paul, MN; and Barbara McIntyre, a writer from Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
WHAT IS JEOPARDAY? It’s today!
Round 1 Categories: Check My Flow – Literary Genres – Artists by Super Bowl Setlist – Chew Must Remember This – Po-po-rri – One Through Ten
Father Paul found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Literary Genres” under the $1,000 clue on the 10th pick of the round. He was in second place with $800, $1,000 less than Jamie’s lead. Father Paul bet the $1,000 allowance and guessed fan fiction. That was WRONG.
This portmanteau word is used of the genre that blends passion with dragon riders & such, as in “fourth wing” show
Jamie finished in the lead with $6,200. Father Paul was in second place with $3,000 and Barbara was last with $2,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: What a Load of B.C. – Neologisms – TV Tough Guys & Gals – Geez, Louise! – Secrets of the Bees – All Preachers Great & Small
Jamie found the first Daily Double in “All Preachers Great & Small” under the $1,200 clue on the 14th pick. He was in the lead with $15,400 now, $7,200 more than Father Paul in second place. Jamie bet $2,600 and he was RIGHT.
Once known as “The Most Famous Man in America”, this abolitionist preacher also had a famous abolitionist sister show
Jamie got the last Daily Double in “Neologisms” under the $800 clue with 5 clues left after it. In the lead with $22,800, he had $11,800 more than Father Paul in second place. Jamie bet $500 and he was RIGHT.
In Rebecca Solnit’s essay that helped launch this word, a guy informs Rebecca about an important book that he doesn’t realize she wroteshow
Jamie finished in the lead with a runaway $24,900. Father Paul was in second place with $11,000. Barbara was last with $6,000. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS JANE EYRE?
Charlotte Brontë published “Jane Eyre” in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell. An instant success at publication, it became one of the 19th century classics that provided Hollywood with material that never gets old. There have been various theories over the years as to how Charlotte chose the name of her unlikely heroine. I do like the theory in the clue as it correlates with “Plain Jane”, but that expression didn’t become popular as a rhyming description until decades later. Jane is compelled to dress plainly at the school Aunt Reed sends her to, but Jane takes pride in doing the best she can with what she has.
As for Jane being an “heir”, you have to believe that the author planned this in advance so that Jane would be of equal social status in class-conscious England to Rochester. I think the inheritance is mainly meant to right the wrongs of Aunt Reed but perhaps Charlotte had a list of surnames common to the region where the novel is set and saw a connection with Eyre while righting those wrongs.
Barbara wrote down “Will”. She lost $5,730 and finished with $270.
Father Paul went with David Copperfield. That cost him $1,001 and left him with $9,999.
Jamie wrote down Kansas Testament. He lost $2,280 but won the game with $22,620. That gives Jamie a 12-day total of $314,440.
A triple stumper from each round:
CHEW MUST REMEMBER THIS ($1000) Just one vowel different from a pasta is this word for white beans that Tuscans use in soup & elsewhere
WHAT A LOAD OF B.C. ($2000) Around 1000 B.C. these people, no kin to Conan the Barbarian despite the name, were among the first to occupy Crimea
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “NOVEL TITLE OBJECTS”
A girl in a 1950 novel walks into this & “got in among the coats and rubbed her face against them” show
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I was quite surprised that they all zeroed in on bequest and ignored plain. The first thing that popped up in my mind was Sarah: Plain and Tall (out, because 20th century) and second was the right answer.