Question

I thought of that old gentleman . . . who declared that it was impossible for any woman, past, present, or to come, to have the genius of Shakespeare. He wrote to the papers about it. He also told a lady who applied to him for information that cats do not as a matter of fact go to heaven, though they have, he added, souls of a sort. How much thinking those old gentlemen used to save one! How the borders of ignorance shrank back at their approach! Cats do not go to heaven. Women cannot write the plays of Shakespeare.

–A Room of One’s Own,
Virginia Woolf

Which statement best explains how the rhetorical device supports the central idea?

The author uses a rhetorical question to make the old gentleman seem ridiculous.
The author uses an allusion to refer to a well-known expert, showing that the central idea is valid.
The author reinforces the central idea by understating the wise thoughts of the old gentleman.
The author emphasizes the central idea by showing the old man’s foolishness through his use of overstatement.

Answer 1

The author emphasizes the central idea by showing the old man’s foolishness through his use of overstatement. Woolf’s exaggerated, sarcastic praise (“How the borders of ignorance shrank back at their approach!”) mocks his absurd claims and reinforces her critique.