A scholar studying literary criticism contends that numerous critics have treated Virginia Woolf mainly as a symbol of feminism instead...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
A scholar studying literary criticism contends that numerous critics have treated Virginia Woolf mainly as a symbol of feminism instead of conducting thorough examination of her storytelling methods.
Which statement from a literary critic would most effectively validate this scholar's contention?
Although Woolf's innovative writing techniques merit consideration, her real importance rests in how she represented the fight for women's intellectual rights.
Woolf's interior monologue technique demonstrates extraordinary creativity, especially in her management of time transitions in character development.
The scholarly response to Woolf's writing has differed considerably among various literary schools and regional perspectives.
Comprehending Woolf's life circumstances continues to be crucial for analyzing the emotional complexity of her literary figures.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A scholar studying literary criticism contends that numerous critics have treated Virginia Woolf mainly as a symbol of feminism instead of conducting thorough examination of her storytelling methods." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A scholar argues that critics focus on Woolf's feminist symbolism rather than analyzing her literary techniques properly.
Argument Flow: The scholar presents a single, direct criticism of how literary critics have approached Virginia Woolf's work - treating her primarily as a feminist icon while neglecting detailed analysis of her actual storytelling craft.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct choice should show a critic doing exactly what the scholar criticizes - treating Woolf mainly as a feminist symbol while not giving proper attention to her storytelling techniques
- This means we're looking for a statement that emphasizes her feminist importance over her literary craft or focuses entirely on her feminist role without mentioning techniques
Although Woolf's innovative writing techniques merit consideration, her real importance rests in how she represented the fight for women's intellectual rights.
- This critic acknowledges Woolf's "innovative writing techniques merit consideration" but immediately diminishes them by saying "her real importance rests in how she represented the fight for women's intellectual rights"
- This perfectly validates the scholar's contention - the critic treats techniques as secondary and prioritizes her feminist symbolism as her "real importance"
Woolf's interior monologue technique demonstrates extraordinary creativity, especially in her management of time transitions in character development.
- This statement focuses entirely on Woolf's "interior monologue technique" and "creativity" in "character development"
- This contradicts the scholar's claim because it shows a critic conducting exactly the kind of thorough examination of storytelling methods the scholar says is missing
The scholarly response to Woolf's writing has differed considerably among various literary schools and regional perspectives.
- This discusses how different literary schools have responded to Woolf's writing
- This doesn't address either feminist symbolism or storytelling techniques - it's about scholarly response patterns
Comprehending Woolf's life circumstances continues to be crucial for analyzing the emotional complexity of her literary figures.
- This focuses on understanding Woolf's life to analyze her literary characters
- While not examining storytelling techniques directly, this isn't treating her as a feminist symbol either - it's biographical literary criticism