Question

So the Persepolis of the spirit is no less ravaged than the Susa of material fact. Everything has not been lost, but everything has sensed that it might perish.

An extraordinary shudder ran through the marrow of Europe. She felt in every nucleus of her mind that she was no longer the same, that she was no longer herself, that she was about to lose consciousness, a consciousness acquired through centuries of bearable calamities, by thousands of men of the first rank, from innumerable geographical, ethnic, and historical coincidences . . . the disordered behavior of mind fleeing from reality to nightmare and from nightmare back to reality, terrified, like a rat caught in a trap.. (“The Crisis of the Mind,” p. 1)

Which of the following best characterizes the mood Valéry describes in this passage?

regret

determination

anger

anxiety

Answer 1

regret

Step-by-step explanation:

Valéry wrote this essay in 1919. He felt that Europe was in decline and he longed for ancient civilizations. He would like Europe to have kept her great ideas and her splendour, but he himself admitted that Europe was not free from her own destructive and changing forces.

"...Everything has not been lost, but everything has sensed that it might perish."; Valéry , through these sentences , tells that ancient civilizations were in decline , so the same would happen to Europe "...she was no longer herself,...", these words refer to the writer's feelings of regret.

Answer 2

The correct option is ANXIETY.
Anxiety refers to an uncomfortable feeling and nervousness about something that is already happening or something that might happen in the future.
Considering the passage given above, you will notice that Europe is really bothered and worried about her present state. She felt that she is no longer the same and might soon lose consciousness and perish completely. This shows a state of anxiety, where the affected is worried and uncertain about what the outcome of a situation will eventually be.