Question

For it needs little skill in psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift for poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by other people, so tortured and pulled asunder by her own contrary instincts, that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty.

–A Room of One’s Own,
Virginia Woolf

Which words or phrases from the text support the author’s perspective that gifted female writers had difficulty gaining recognition? Check all that apply.

“needs little skill”
“hindered by other people”
“tortured and pulled asunder”
“contrary instincts”
“to a certainty”

Answer 1

Choices that support that perspective:
- “hindered by other people” — shows external obstacles to success.
- “tortured and pulled asunder” — conveys severe suffering and disruption that would prevent flourishing.
- “contrary instincts” — indicates internal conflict undermining a writer’s efforts.

“needs little skill” just says the point is obvious; “to a certainty” stresses inevitability but doesn’t itself name the obstacles.