Question

Read the passage from A Room of One’s Own.

For surely it is time that the effect of discouragement upon the mind of the artist should be measured, as I have seen a dairy company measure the effect of ordinary milk and Grade A milk upon the body of the rat. They set two rats in cages side by side, and of the two one was furtive, timid and small, and the other was glossy, bold and big. Now what food do we feed women as artists upon? I asked, remembering, I suppose, that dinner of prunes and custard.

What perspective is supported by Woolf’s word choices in the underlined sentence?

that women artists are treated like caged rats
that women artists become fearful in captivity
that women artists are often held back by their own creative instincts
that women artists do not receive the encouragement they need to succeed

Answer 1

that women artists do not receive the encouragement they need to succeed

Woolf’s food metaphor (feeding women “prunes and custard”) and the rat experiment imply women are given poor “nourishment” (support/encouragement), which stunts their development as artists.