Reading Comprehension

It is an odd but indisputable fact that the
Seventeenth-century English-women who are
generally regarded as among the forerunners of
modern feminism are almost all identified with the
(5) Royalist side in the conflict between Royalists and
Parliamentarians known as the English Civil Wars.
Since Royalist ideology is often associated with the
radical patriarchalism of seventeenth-century
political theorist Robert Filmer - a patriarchalism
(10) that equates family and kingdom and asserts the
divinely ordained absolute power of the king and,
by analogy, of the male head of the household -
historians have been understandably puzzled by the
fact that Royalist women wrote the earliest
(15) extended criticism of the absolute subordination of
women in marriage and the earliest systematic
assertions of women's rational and morale equality
with men. Some historians have questioned the
facile equation of Royalist ideology with Filmerian
(20) patriarchalism; and indeed, there may have been no
consistent differences between Royalists and
patriarchalism on issues of family organization
and women's political rights, but in that case one
would expect early feminists to be equally divided
(25) between the two sides.

Catherine Gallagher argues that Royalists
engendered feminism because the ideology of
absolute monarchy provided a transition to an
ideology of the absolute self. She cites the example
(30) of the notoriously eccentric author Margaret
Cavendish (1623 - 1673), duchess of Newcastle.
Cavendish claimed to be as ambitious as any
woman could be, but knowing that as a woman she
was excluded from the pursuit of power in the real
(35) world, she resolved to be mistress of her own
world, "the immaterial world" that any person can
create within her own mind- and, as a writer, on
paper. In proclaiming what she called her
"singularity," Cavendish insisted that she was a self-
(40) sufficient being within her mental empire, the centre
of her own subjective universe rather than a
satellite orbiting a dominant male planet. In
justifying this absolute singularity, Cavendish
repeatedly invoked the model of the absolute
(45) monarch, a figure that became a metaphor for the
self-enclosed, autonomous nature of the individual
person. Cavendish's successors among early
feminists retained her notion of woman's sovereignty
self, but they also sought to break free from the
complete political and social isolation that her
absolute singularity entailed.

(1) The author of the passage refers to Robert Filmer (see line 9) primarily in order to

A: show that Royalist ideology was somewhat more radical than most historians appear to realize
B: qualify the clit ht patriarchalism formed the basis of Royalist ideology
C: question the view that most early feminists were associated with the Royalist faction
D: highlight an apparent tension between Royalists ideology and the ideas of early feminists
E: argue that Royalists held conflicting opinions on issues of family organization nd women's political rights

(2) The passage suggests which of the following about the seventeenth-century English women mentioned in line 2?

A: Their status as forerunners of modern feminists is not entirely justified
B They did not openly challenge the radical patriarchalism of Royalist Filmerian ideology
C: Cavendish was the first among these women to criticize women's subordination in marriage and assert women equality with men
D: Their views on family organization and women's political rights were diametrically opposed to those of both Royalist and patriarchalism ideology
E: Historians would be less puzzled if more of them were identified with the Patriarchalism side in the English Civil Wars

(3) The passage suggests that Margaret Cavendish's decision to become a author was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to

A: Justify her support for the Royalist cause
B: Encourage her readers to work toward eradicating Filmer Patriarchalism
C: Persuade other women to break free from their political and social isolation
D: Analyze the cause for women's exclusion from the pursuit of power
E: Create a world over which she could exercise total control

i would like to give a shot.

the first paragraph describes that the seventeenth-century English women sided with Royalist and criticized the radical patriarchalism in issues of family organization and women's political rights, but the two ideology is in consistent in those issues. -- the phenomenon is indeed odd.

the second paragraph resolves the odd phenomenon, that is, why Royalist women criticize the radical patriarchalism.

problem 1:
as the sentence opens with "in order to", we should look at following sentence. "historians have been understandably puzzled by the fact that Royalist women wrote the earliest extended criticism ... ", that is, the women sided with one side, and criticize another side, this indicates the conflict between two side.

problem 2:
because the two ideology is in consistent in issues of family organization and women's political rights, there is no reason for the seventeenth-century English women to criticize the Parliamentarian, i.e.,more of them should identify with the Parliamentarian side.

problem 3:
look at original text "she resolved to be mistress of her own world, "the immaterial world" that any person can create within her own mind", choice E just match what she did.

open to discuss and wait for expert!