Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.
Cecilia watched the assembly from the relative safety of the alcove, her fingers tracing the velvet trim of the settee. Before her, the room swirled with the bright silks of the season and the low, collective drone of polite agreements. To her right, Lord Byron—not the poet, but her uncle’s prized spaniel—snoozed near the hearth, oblivious to the social maneuvering that defined the evening. Cecilia’s attention, however, remained fixed on Mr. Henderson. He stood near the punch bowl, gesturing with an air of unearned consequence as he held court among the younger guests. To the casual observer, Henderson was the very picture of benevolence, a patron of the arts whose wealth was matched only by his generosity. But Cecilia saw the tightening of his jaw whenever a guest failed to laugh at his anecdotes, and the swift, calculating glance he cast toward the door each time a new carriage arrived. She knew, though none of the others seemed to notice, that his empire of paper and promises was beginning to fray. When her aunt beckoned her to join the circle, Cecilia hesitated, realizing that to step into the light of the chandelier was to participate in the collective illusion that kept them all afloat.
Which of the following best describes the effect of the passage’s third-person limited narrative point of view?
- AIt serves as the author's direct commentary on the moral decay of high society, expressing personal disdain for the superficial nature of the dinner guests.
- BIt outlines the chronological events of the evening, beginning with Cecilia sitting on the settee and concluding with her decision to join the party.
- It restricts the narrative focus to Cecilia’s internal thoughts and observations, exposing the tension between Mr. Henderson’s public facade and his private anxiety.Answer
- DIt provides an objective, unbiased account of the social gathering, validating Mr. Henderson's status as a generous and well-respected patron of the arts.
- EIt frames the interaction as a moral struggle between a deceitful villain in Mr. Henderson and a heroic truth-seeker in Cecilia who intends to ruin him.