Read the text and answer the question only on the basis of the information it contains explicitly or implicitly and not on what you already know about the topic.
Why is it that we worship sacrifice in a mother? Where did this inhuman idea of maternal self-immolation come from? From mother to daughter, for centuries, servitude has been handed on. It is a monstrous chain. At some point in life, all of us become conscious of all that the woman who bore us did for our sake; and with that consciousness comes the remorse of not having adequately repaid her total sacrifice. Then we lavish upon our children all that we did not give our mothers, denying ourselves and offering a fresh example of mortification, of self-annihilation. If only, once and for all, that fatal chain were broken, and a mother did not suppress the woman within herself, and a child were to behold in her an example of dignity. Then one would begin to understand that the duty of parents begins long before the birth of their children, and that their responsibility must be felt beforehand, precisely at that moment when selfish life presses most imperiously, most seductively.
Translated from S. Aleramo, Una Donna, Feltrinelli, Milano, 2002
In which of the following does Aleramo identify the reason why mothers' self-sacrifice is perpetuated?
A) From one generation to the next, women hand down a condition of servitude associated with motherhood
B) From one generation to the next, parental responsibility, especially that of mothers, begins before a child is born
C) From one generation to the next, a condition is handed down that leads daughters to rebel against their mothers
D) From one generation to the next, children learn from their mothers an example of dignity
E) From one generation to the next, women deny their own children and offer an example of mortification
IMAT 2026 · Question 2
Q2 - Reading skills
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The correct answer is A) From one generation to the next, women hand down a condition of servitude associated with motherhood.
Aleramo describes a cycle in which daughters recognise their mothers’ sacrifices and feel guilty for not having repaid them. They then try to compensate by sacrificing themselves for their own children, repeating the same pattern of self-denial. This is the “monstrous chain” through which maternal servitude passes from mother to daughter.
A) Correct: It captures this transmission of maternal servitude from mother to daughter. Each generation repeats the previous generation’s pattern of self-denial.
B) Incorrect: Although the text says parental responsibility begins before a child is born, this does not explain why self-sacrifice is perpetuated. It is part of the author’s argument about a more conscious approach to parenthood.
C) Incorrect: The daughters do not rebel against their mothers’ example. Instead, their guilt leads them to repeat it by sacrificing themselves for their own children.
D) Incorrect: Dignity represents the alternative Aleramo hopes for when the chain is broken. It is not what perpetuates self-sacrifice; it is what children could learn if mothers stopped suppressing themselves.
E) Incorrect: It reverses a crucial detail: mothers deny themselves, not their children. They give to their children while sacrificing their own needs, desires, and identities.
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