Problem
Jane has five coins totaling 35 cents. Each coin is either a penny, a nickel, a dime, or a quarter. After using two of the coins ...
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GRE: Reading Comprehension Question #3 |
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Although Dorothy Wordsworth was convinced that her journal entries were not literature, they were seamlessly incorporated by her brother William into some of his most famous poems, altered only by his use of the first-person pronoun, the "I." The important question concerning the relationship between Dorothy and William, however, is not whether William's borrowings constituted exploitation, but rather how the relationship contributed to Dorothy's inability to conceive of herself as a writer.
Traditionally in literature, the authorial self, the "I," is identifiably masculine. The dominated "other" is feminine. In William's poems, the "other" is usually Nature, often personified as Dorothy. While these literary roles helped to sustain the close relationship between the two in real life, they also reinforced Dorothy's acceptance of the norms which defined her as "other." Thus, her access to authorial self-consciousness was blocked not just by the fact of her gender, but also by her accepted role in her brother's life and poetry.
Question:Which of the following best captures the meaning of the word "self-consciousness" as it is used in the final sentence of the passage?
Choices:
The term "self-consciousness" is used in the final sentence which summarizes the last paragraph. This basically says that Dorothy did not view herself as a writer because she was defined as the "other" by both traditional gender roles and her relationship with her brother. That is, she was not aware that she was a writer. This is closest to choice (D).
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