Q1. [1] straightforward thorough-understanding
[short_answer] Before women's schools became widely available in nineteenth-century India, some liberal Hindu and Muslim husbands and fathers began educating their wives and daughters at home. What motivated them to take this step, and why was such private education considered a safer alternative by many families?
- A The colonial government legally required home education for women before school enrolment.
- B Women's reading had grown enormously due to novels and social reform writing, creating demand for literacy.
- C Penny magazines were exclusively designed for home-based learning and required a tutor.
- D Women's schools charged fees that only wealthy families could afford.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:04 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Answer: B
Women's reading had grown enormously due to novels and social reform writing, creating demand for literacy. Liberal husbands and fathers educated women at home as schools were not yet widely available.
Source: Women and Print, Chapter 5
Explanation
The passage states: "Women's reading...increased enormously in middle-class homes. Liberal husbands and fathers began educating their womenfolk at home." This directly links the growth of women's reading (driven by novels and reform writing) to home education. Options A, C, and D are not mentioned in the passage at all.