The phrase 'each window a small decision that someone else had made' mainly suggests that Marta feels

Marta reached the dock as the horn sounded. The ferry was already pulling away, its white wake folding over the grey water like a page being turned. She stood with her suitcase against her knee and did not shout. Behind her the village lights came on one by one, each window a small decision that someone else had made. She thought of the letter in her coat, the one she had written twice and posted never. Then she sat on the suitcase, took out the letter, and began, slowly, to read it to the empty harbour.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. excluded from the settled lives of the people in the village

  1. Step 1: The windows are described as decisions made by other people. Step 2. Marta, outside and leaving, sees these as lives she is not part of. Answer: excluded from settled lives. Why not the others: there is no gratitude, certainty or anger about timing in the text.

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