Answer:
I believe that is a metaphor. If not my bad. Hope this is the right answer.
This question is incomplete. Here's the complete question.
Read A Dead Woman's Secret
By Guy de Maupassant
1880
How do the siblings' reactions to their mother's letters contribute to the theme of the text?
The siblings are shocked, contributing to the theme that people are not always as they seem.
The siblings are angered after learning about their real father, contributing to the theme that it is best to be honest with others.
The brother condemns their mother but the sister sympathizes with her, contributing to the theme of forgiving loved ones.
The siblings are shocked but still watch over their mother, contributing to the theme that it is best to be loyal to family.
Answer: The siblings are shocked, contributing to the theme that people are not always as they seem.
Explanation:
Through the letter, the siblings find out that their assumed virtuous mother had at least one love affair. After being raised by the now-deceased woman, who inculcated them a strict code of morality and religiosity to such extent that Marguerite had become a nun and the son a flawless magistrate, this discovery makes them furious, and they angrily leave her.
Paltry means "meager" or "small": D. Paltry is the most correct answer.
