Use the passage to answer the question. (shown below)
Which of the following quotes is an example of characterization that helps develop the theme?
A.
“Silence answered; but in a minute or two he caught a sound on the stairs and saw a line of light about the door-frame, as he had seen it the night before.”
B.
"This tribute to the unusual transformed and glorified her. She seemed to Ethan taller, fuller, more womanly in shape and motion.”
C.
"They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair."
D.
"Mattie, in an instant, had sprung from her chair and was down on her knees by the fragments."
E.
"Well, she'll have to say it to the cat, any way!” he rejoined with a laugh, kneeling down at Mattie's side to scrape up the swimming pickles."
****I believe the answer is B, but I would like a second opinion, please. Thanks!
Excerpt from Chapter IV of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Silence answered; but in a minute or two he caught a sound on the stairs and saw a line of light about the door-frame, as he had seen it the night before. So strange was the precision with which the incidents of the previous evening were repeating themselves that he half expected, when he heard the key turn, to see his wife before him on the threshold; but the door opened, and Mattie faced him.
She stood just as Zeena had stood, a lifted lamp in her hand, against the black background of the kitchen. She held the light at the same level, and it drew out with the same distinctness her slim young throat and the brown wrist no bigger than a child's. Then, striking upward, it threw a lustrous fleck on her lips, edged her eyes with velvet shade, and laid a milky whiteness above the black curve of her brows.
She wore her usual dress of darkish stuff, and there was no bow at her neck; but through her hair she had run a streak of crimson ribbon. This tribute to the unusual transformed and glorified her. She seemed to Ethan taller, fuller, more womanly in shape and motion. She stood aside, smiling silently, while he entered, and then moved away from him with something soft and flowing in her gait. She set the lamp on the table, and he saw that it was carefully laid for supper, with fresh dough-nuts, stewed blueberries and his favourite pickles in a dish of red glass. A bright fire glowed in the stove and the cat lay stretched before it, watching the table with a drowsy eye.
Ethan was suffocated with the sense of well-being. He went out into the passage to hang up his coat and pull off his wet boots. When he came back Mattie had set the teapot on the table and the cat was rubbing itself persuasively against her ankles.
. . . And after a pause he felt it right to add: “I suppose he got Zeena over to the Flats all right?”
“Oh, yes; in plenty of time.”
The name threw a chill between them, and they stood a moment looking sideways at each other before Mattie said with a shy laugh. “I guess it's about time for supper.”
They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair. “Oh, Puss!” said Mattie, and they laughed again.
Ethan, a moment earlier, had felt himself on the brink of eloquence; but the mention of Zeena had paralysed him. Mattie seemed to feel the contagion of his embarrassment, and sat with downcast lids, sipping her tea, while he feigned an insatiable appetite for dough-nuts and sweet pickles. At last, after casting about for an effective opening, he took a long gulp of tea, cleared his throat, and said: “Looks as if there'd be more snow.”
She feigned great interest. “Is that so? Do you suppose it'll interfere with Zeena's getting back?” She flushed red as the question escaped her, and hastily set down the cup she was lifting.
Ethan reached over for another helping of pickles. “You never can tell, this time of year, it drifts so bad on the Flats.” The name had benumbed him again, and once more he felt as if Zeena were in the room between them.
“Oh, ou're too greedy!” Mattie cried.
The cat, unnoticed, had crept up on muffled paws from Zeena's seat to the table, and was stealthily elongating its body in the direction of the milk-jug, which stood between Ethan and Mattie. The two leaned forward at the same moment and their hands met on the handle of the jug. Mattie's hand was underneath, and Ethan kept his clasped on it a moment longer than was necessary. The cat, profiting by this unusual demonstration, tried to effect an unnoticed retreat, and in doing so backed into the pickle-dish, which fell to the floor with a crash.
Mattie, in an instant, had sprung from her chair and was down on her knees by the fragments.
“Oh, Ethan, Ethan—it's all to pieces! What will Zeena say?”
But this time his courage was up. “Well, she'll have to say it to the cat, any way!” he rejoined with a laugh, kneeling down at Mattie's side to scrape up the swimming pickles.
She lifted stricken eyes to him. “Yes, but, you see, she never meant it should be used, not even when there was company; and I had to get up on the step-ladder to reach it down from the top shelf of the china-closet, where she keeps it with all her best things, and of course she'll want to know why I did it—”
The case was so serious that it called forth all of Ethan's latent resolution.
“She needn't know anything about it if you keep quiet. I'll get another just like it to-morrow. Where did it come from? I'll go to Shadd's Falls for it if I have to!”
B.
"This tribute to the unusual transformed and glorified her. She seemed to Ethan taller, fuller, more womanly in shape and motion.”
The quote that is an example of characterization that helps develop the theme is C. "They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair." This quote characterizes the cat as a disruptive force in Ethan and Mattie's relationship, which develops the theme of the challenges and obstacles they face in their forbidden love.
The quote that is an example of characterization that helps develop the theme is option B: "This tribute to the unusual transformed and glorified her. She seemed to Ethan taller, fuller, more womanly in shape and motion." This quote highlights how the character of Mattie is presented as transformed and glorified, which contributes to the theme of the power of love and desire.
The quote that is an example of characterization that helps develop the theme is C: "They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair."
To get to this answer, we need to first understand the concept of characterization and theme. Characterization refers to the methods an author uses to develop and describe a character. It includes the use of direct and indirect characterization, such as through dialogue, actions, and thoughts. Theme, on the other hand, refers to the underlying message or main idea that the author wants to convey in a literary work.
In the given passage, the quote in option C provides characterization that helps develop the theme. This quote shows the action of the cat jumping between the two characters, Ethan and Mattie, into Zeena's empty chair. This action of the cat symbolizes Zeena's absence and the opportunity for Ethan and Mattie to have a moment alone together. It characterizes their relationship and the forbidden nature of their feelings for each other, as Zeena is Ethan's wife. This quote develops the theme of forbidden love and the consequences of pursuing such love. It highlights the tension and conflict between what the characters desire and what is considered morally right.
Therefore, the correct answer is C. "They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair."