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RC Passage - George Sand

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sumgb Rising GMAT Star
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RC Passage - George Sand Post Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:03 am
Elapsed Time: 00:00
  • Lap #[LAPCOUNT] ([LAPTIME])
    Passage Text -
    Though he left us with numerous great works and, to be sure, is widely
    regarded as America‘s first internationally renowned author, Washington
    Irving‘s sometimes enigmatic tendencies and techniques have left literary
    critiques and academics to ponder his motives more than 140 years after
    his death. One such trait that raises the proverbial eyebrow of the
    community of readers and critiques is Irving‘s repeated, and varied, use
    of pseudonyms throughout his career.
    One of the most well-known female writers to adopt a pen name was
    George Sand, born Aurore Dupin in 1804, who became one of the most
    prolific and admired French authors - female or male - during the
    nineteenth century. The true identity of George Sand did not remain a
    secret for long, for after 1830 the author used this name in her everydaylife,
    and close friends commonly referred to her as ―George.â€-
    Most portraits of the author as an adult are entitled simply George
    Sand and make no reference to her given name. Her son, too, adopted
    this new last name even though association with his famous authormother
    did not bring him any obvious benefits, other than to indicate that
    his relationship with his mother was closer than that of his sister. Given
    that the name ―George Sandâ€- is radically different from Aurore Dupin‘s
    birth name, many readers have wondered how the author formulated her
    masculine pen name.
    At least two possible answers spring to mind. The first, as indicated in
    Curtis Cate‘s biography George Sand, is that the idea for this pseudonym
    arose from a collaboration with her first lover, Jules Sandeau, with whom
    she co-authored several articles as well as a full-length novel entitled
    Rose et Blanche. Since her own literary output was a great success in the
    1830s-1850s, she quickly became known by this name, and began to use
    her pen-name on a daily basis.
    By continuing to use the name initially assigned to collaborative
    writings with her lover, perhaps Aurore hoped to maintain her connection
    to Sandeau. Perhaps she fondly remembered their time together and
    wished to have a permanent reminder of their relationship. Or perhaps
    she simply realized that it would be much more expedient to continue to
    write under a name which was already familiar to her audience thanks to
    the joint works she and Sandeau had published.
    Given that George Sand began writing under this masculine name at
    around the same time as she began to roam around Paris in pants and a
    jacket - typically male clothing - it is not hard to understand why she
    chose a masculine pseudonym, since, like her choice of clothes, this male
    identity gave her more freedom of expression, both literally and
    figuratively. Writing under a false name allowed her to distance parts of
    her character - her roles as wife, mother, and lover - from the creative
    and literary parts that formed the basis for her role as an author. Using a
    male name set her apart and added to her persona as an unusual and
    fascinating woman. And in the end, the reason why she chose this
    particular pen-name is not nearly as important as the vast quantity of
    writing - articles, letters, novels, plays - that forms her legacy to the
    field of French literature.

    Que -

    According to the passage, the following were all possible reasons for George
    Sand to create a pseudonym EXCEPT:
    A. she began publishing collaborative works with Jules Sandeau.
    B. her new name reflected important parts of her life.
    C. she was not able to publish any works under her own given name.
    D. the works published under her pen name sold well.
    E. the male identity gave her greater freedom of expression

    OA is C. I failed to understand how answer choice B is one of the possible reasons for George Sand to create a pseudonym. How is answer choice B a valid reason? can someone please clarify it for me?

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    Post Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:26 pm
    The below text tells us that option B is a possible reason.

    By continuing to use the name initially assigned to collaborative
    writings with her lover, perhaps Aurore hoped to maintain her connection
    to Sandeau. Perhaps she fondly remembered their time together and
    wished to have a permanent reminder of their relationship.

    harsha.198004@gmail.com Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
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    Post Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:12 pm
    I think the answer is C

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