Question

What inference can the reader make as to why Hester Prynne's daughter would turn her head away from the daylight, based on the following passage from Chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter?
"She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day; because its existence, heretofore, had brought it acquainted only with the gray twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison."

A. The child had been born and raised inside of the prison, so wasn't used to the bright, natural daylight.
B. The baby, being considered an impure demon due to her scandalous birth, is rejecting the sunlight.
C. The baby didn't know how to respond to the noise from the crowd.
D. The child is too young to respond to the daylight, and is shocked when she sees it for the first time.

Answer 1

The correct answer is A.

You can find this answer from the clues in the last independent clause. It says that the baby's "existence," or whole life, had been "acquainted only with...a dungeon." That is, the baby is only used to the "gray twilight" of the prison, which is sharply contrasted with the bright daylight outside.