The Sonnet XLI by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was built around a Central Paradox. The speaker was at one point talking about life, and then she talks about death and how ironic it was on how these two came about. She describes the two as if they are one, life and death.
Answer C: fear.
The passage gives the idea that John feels fear in anticipation to a bad approach with Carolyn based on his previous experience with her.
