Read the following passage carefully:
Julian sat by the heavy oak table, his fingers tracing the rim of the cold porcelain teacup. Across the room, the hearth fire, which had blazed so brightly during the early hours of their discussion, had dwindled to a heap of grey ashes. A single stubborn ember glowed at its center, pulsing with a faint, crimson light before fading back into the surrounding shadow. Outside, the autumn wind rattled the windowpane, throwing dry leaves against the glass like tiny, desperate hands seeking entry. Julian looked toward the empty chair opposite him, where Eleanor had sat only moments before. Her lace handkerchief remained on the armrest, smelling faintly of lavender. He did not reach for it. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the hearth. He simply watched the final ember in the grate grow dark, the room slipping at last into a cold, uniform gray. The silence that followed was absolute, heavier than the chill that had begun to creep beneath the door.
In the passage, the fading of the final ember in the hearth fire primarily serves to symbolize which of the following?
- AThe literal drop in temperature inside the room as the autumn storm approaches.
- BThe author's autobiographical reflection on the loneliness of creative writing.
- The fading remnants of the connection and emotional warmth between the two characters.Answer
- DJulian's intense, burning anger and resentment regarding Eleanor's departure.
- EEleanor's deliberate action of extinguishing the fire before leaving the room.