The story in question is, I suppose, Ursula Le Guin's "The Wife's Story".
The narrator describes her husband in a contrast: he was a good husband and father, he was gentle with his children, he was tender and careful with his mother, he was a good person. Her distressed tone and the use of perfect tense tells us that all of it changed after an incident that we still don't know anything about. Apparently, he did something terrible, which denies all of those traits. The wife is extremely upset, still under the impression of what happened. She still can't come to terms with the event itself, let alone her husband's tranformation. We see that in her repetitions: "I don't understand", "I don't believe", "It isn't true". According to the excerpt, she is a simple woman who experienced domestic happiness, and now it has all gone.
A steep cliff has to be very high, therefore, there is a long way down. You can also eliminate the other answers. Hope this helps. Ask any additional questions if you want :)
