Question

How does the personification in the lines “Time lifts the curtain unawares, / and sorrow looks into her face...” affect meaning?

A) by making sorrow a character, to distress caused by exposure is clear

B) sorrow is a necessary contrast to joy since it shows the range of the woman’s emotions

C) time causes the woman’s tears when it lifts the curtain because she is put on display

D) when time lifts the curtain, the sadness caused by pardah is revealed

I am referring to the poem called “The Pardah Naidu”

Answer 1

The answer to this question is D) when time lifts the curtain, the sadness caused by pardah is revealed. Throughout the poem, we get a sense that there is a certain type of sadness built up in her. It is especially hinted that she has internal problems by the lines before it, saying that no hands would dare unveil her "mysteries of her grace."