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Read these lines: "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." What is the main point of the quoted lines?
ATwo years of work had all been wasted
BRest and health returned once he was done
CHe had never wanted the work to succeed
DSuccess turned at once into horror for him
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Success turned at once into horror for him
1. 1. The first sentences measure the cost: two years, rest and health given up, desire beyond moderation.
2. 2. The word but marks the turn, placed exactly at the moment the work is finished.
3. 3. What follows the turn is the dream vanishing and horror and disgust taking its place.
4. 4. So the point is the reversal at the moment of success, not wasted labour or recovered health.
_Source: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)_
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