byRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
Reading Passage Question
The essential issue in the Wordsworths' relationship is not whether William's "borrowing" from Dorothy's journal constituted tribute or exploitation, but how the relationship influenced Dorothy's inability to (5) conceive of herself as a writer. Dorothy's journal entries, so unselfconscious as to omit the first person pronoun altogether, seemed to her not to be literature at all. Yet they were seamlessly incorporated into William's most famous poems, (10) altered only by the introduction of the "I."
In mainstream literary tradition, the authorial self, the "I," is masculine. The dominated other-Nature, Desire, or Woman herself-is feminine. For Wordsworth, the female other is Nature, often (15) personified as his sister Dorothy. Though this characterization helped to validate and sustain the unusually intense relationship the two had in real life, it reinforced on a personal level Dorothy's acceptance of the social and literary tradition (20) which defined her as other. Her access to authorial subjectivity was blocked not just by her femaleness, but by her cherished central role in her brother's life and poetry.
The Essential Issue in the Wordsworths' Relationship is not Whether William's "borrowing" - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Nominees must have a firm understanding on English GMAT reading comprehension. There are 3 comprehension questions in this GMAT Reading Comprehension section. GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are conducted to examine candidates' skills to decipher, interpret, and utilize knowledge or ideas. Candidates can actively prepare by answering GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solutions and Explanation
- Which of the following provides the most appropriate substitute for the term other, as used in line 20?
A) The object of male aggression
B) A personification of nature
C) Acted upon rather than acting
D) The "I" of poetry
E) Emotive rather than Intellectual
Answer: C
Explanation: The line in question refers to the "authorial self, the 'I,' and the "dominated other." So the other thing is what the author refers to as being "acted upon rather than acting" (Choice (C)). Nature (Choice (B)) is just one example of a "other" in this context. (D) is directly opposite—the "other" is opposed to the "I" of poetry.
- The author would most probably identify which of the following as "the essential issue" (line 1) in the Wordsworths' relationship?
A) Whether Dorothy felt taken advantage of by William's use of her journal entries
B) Whether Dorothy was familiar with mainstream literary tradition
C) How William altered Dorothy's writings for inclusion in his poems
D) How the relationship reinforced Dorothy's assumptions about herself
E) Whether the relationship was psychologically harmful
Answer: D
Explanation: (A) is contrary to the passage. Sentence 1 states that "whether William's 'borrowing' ... constituted … exploitation" is not the essential issue. The correct answer, (D), paraphrases the end of that sentence "how the relationship influenced Dorothy's inability to conceive of herself as a writer."
- The author implies that which of the following were obstacles to Dorothy Wordsworth's becoming a poet?
I) The fact that women were traditionally the subjects rather than the authors of poetry.
II) The omission of the word "I" in her journals.
III) Her relationship with her brother.
A) I only
B) II only
C) III only
D) I and III only
E) II and III only
Answer: D
Explanation: The passage's topic and scope are how William Wordsworth's relationship with his sister Dorothy affected her ability to perceive herself as a writer. While (I) and (III) are clearly stated in the text, (II"omission)'s of the word 'I' in her journals". This is an evidence of Dorothy Wordsworth's unselfconsciousness but is not an obstacle in and of itself.
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