Mo2men wrote:Dear GMATGuru,

Can you please shed light about the OA? the meaning of the question or what does it test?

When a sentence begins with for all + POSSESSIVE, for all = DESPITE.
OA: For all his professed disdain of such activities, Auden was an inveterate literary gossip.
Conveyed meaning:
Despite his professed disdain of such activities, Auden was an inveterate literary gossip.

Why E is wrong?

E: In spite of professions of disdaining all such activities, Auden was an inveterate literary gossip.
Here. the professions seem to be attributed not to Auden but to people in general, distorting the intended meaning of the original sentence, which refers to AUDEN'S professed disdain.
Another issue:
Generally, a VERBing implies a TEMPORARY ACTION performed at the same time as the main action.
For this reason, the VERBing in red implies that people are temporarily DISDAINING gossip-like activities.
The original sentence, however, conveys that Auden has not a temporary aversion to such activities but a general DISDAIN for them.
Since E distorts the intended meaning by conveying that the disdaining is only temporary, eliminate E.