Long regarded as a necessary evil, the royal mistress is a classic sta

Question

Long regarded as a necessary evil, the royal mistress is a classic staple of the French court. It was hardly a new trick for a monarch to use mistresses and political advisors as scapegoats, but the Bourbons did it with their own particular flare and brand of ceremony. Much of life in the French court was dictated by tradition, ritual, and custom, and the role of the mistress was no exception to this. Mistresses were there to please the king and be the target for unwanted criticism, but they were also expected to stay out of political affairs.

This, of course, was hardly ever the case. The mistresses of Louis XIV, however, were rather well behaved in comparison to those of the future kings. Louis XIV fathered 13 illegitimate children with his mistresses over the course of his life. Thus, his many mistresses were often more concerned with securing rights for their illegitimate offspring than with meddling in affairs of the state. This lack of political meddling made them somewhat less prone to the tremendously harsh scrutiny faced later by those of Louis XV. Additionally, Louis XIV’s absolutist rule certainly had much to do with his mistresses remaining in their “proper places.” Furthermore, Louis’ strict control of the presses kept much of the harshest criticism at bay.

Nevertheless, there was still a steady stream of underground literature and cartoons that demonstrated abhorrence for many of Louis’ paramours. What was important about the criticism that did proliferate against his mistresses, however, was that it was used to great advantage by Louis XIV. Indeed, he used it to deflect criticism off of himself. By having an easily disposable female to shoulder the blame for various monarchical mishaps, Louis was able to retain his appearance of absolute control and otherworldly perfection.

There would, however, be consequences for such skillful puppet-mastery in the coming century. Louis XIV was the singular architect of a vast veil of fictive space inlaid between him and his people, creating a dangerous precedent of masterful manipulation that could not be maintained to the same degree by later monarchs. It was clear that Louis XIV crafted this fictive space cleverly and with great skill, peppering it with self-promoting propaganda to control his image in the collective imagination of his people. His progeny, however, were simply not as adept at doing so. Even more problematic, although future monarchs were not able to dexterously manipulate this fictive space themselves, it did not go away. Instead, it was the satirists, pamphleteers, and playwrights who took over its construction in the years leading up to the Revolution. In short, though it was Louis XIV who wrote his own mythology, Louis XVI would have his written for him.    1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) critique the morals of the court of Louis XIV
(B) discuss the popular opinion of French royal mistresses
(C) contrast the mistresses of Louis XIV and Louis XV
(D) suggest the main cause of the French Revolution
(E) describe the utility and flaws of a political tradition

2 
 2. According to the passage, all of the following were reasons that the mistresses of Louis XIV were less problematic than those of Louis XV EXCEPT:

(A) They were more concerned with securing the futures of their offspring.
(B) There was little freedom for the press under Louis XIV.
(C) They produced more offspring than did those of Louis XV.
(D) Louis XIV was a skillful politician.
(E) They were relatively uninterested in affairs of state.

3 
 3. The passage suggests which of the following?

I. Necessary evils are part of monarchies.
II. Writing one’s own mythology can be good statesmanship.
III. Louis XIV viewed Louis XV as an unsatisfactory heir

A. I Only
B. II Only
C. III Only
D. I and II Only
E. II and III Only

4 
 4. The passage implies that

(A) Louis XIV made mistakes that led to the Revolution
(B) Louis XIV was a member of the Bourbon family
(C) Louis XV wrote his own mythology
(D) the most troublesome mistresses were those of Louis XVI
(E) Louis XIV had more mistresses than Louis XVI

RC Butler 2023  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 160 Date: 23-May-2023
 This question is part of RC Butler 2023 .  Click here for Details

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harshshandilya · Answer

Question 1 - E - describe the utility and flaws of a political tradition

Where does it says anything about "flaws" of a " particular tradition"

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Explanation

In the  first paragraph , the author outlines the political role of royal mistresses in France and goes on to discuss the virtues and pitfalls of this system.  Choice (A)  is out of scope, as the author avoids moral judgments.

Choice (B)  is too narrow; popular opinion is a detail, one of the pitfalls.

Choice (C)  is wrong because the passage does not contrast the mistresses—about whom there is very little information—but rather their effect on French politics.

Choice (D)  is incorrect (and too extreme) because the author does not say it was the main cause.

Answer: E

Its_me_aka_ak · Answer

How is statement 1 not true? I'm confused, as it is stated that at least the mistress thing is a part of monarchs and is a necessary evil.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

I Don't know which question you are talking about. Ask a complete question.

Its_me_aka_ak · Answer

OOPS! question 3 statement 1 sir

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. The passage suggests which of the following?

Explanation

In the  last paragraph , the passage describes the success of Louis XIV by writing his own mythology and compares that to the less satisfactory attempts by his successors. The first statement is out of scope as the author only states that it was a staple of the French court, not all courts. Similarly, no indication is given of Louis’ opinion of his successor.

Answer: B

Agarwal2003 · Answer

Can you please explain the first line of the second paragraph? What is referred to when it says that "This was hardly ever the case" ?

Apoorva800 · Answer

Even I was confused in this while reading the passage the first time. Anyways,  "This was hardly ever the case" means that the mistresses were infact involved in political affairs. (read the previous line which states that they were expected to stay out of it).

Kudos if you understood it.

ReetArora · Answer

@sajjaad1994 Reading & comprehending passage was easy, but got confused in almost all question. Please suggest a way to handle this.

catcun · Answer

egmat  could please show me how they arrived at the answer to the fourth question?

egmat · Answer

catcun Since it's an inference question—you need to find what the passage strongly suggests based on the information given. Let's star with first understanding a systematic framework to Inference questions: For " The passage implies that " questions, the correct answer must be: Supported by specific evidence in the passage Not explicitly stated (otherwise it's not an inference) Logically derived from what is stated Answer Choice Analysis: (A) Louis XIV made mistakes that led to the Revolution The passage mentions Louis XIV created a "dangerous precedent" that later monarchs couldn't maintain, but it doesn't say his mistakes caused the Revolution. This goes too far—it was his system that others failed to maintain, not his mistakes directly. Eliminate. (B) Louis XIV was a member of the Bourbon family ✓ CORRECT Paragraph 1 establishes the context: " the Bourbons did it with their own particular flare " Paragraph 2 immediately discusses Louis XIV as an example: " The mistresses of Louis XIV, however... " The entire passage analyzes Louis XIV within the Bourbon framework This is clearly implied—Louis XIV is presented as a Bourbon monarch throughout. (C) Louis XV wrote his own mythology The passage states " it was Louis XIV who wrote his own mythology, Louis XVI would have his written for him ." Louis XV isn't mentioned in this context at all. Eliminate. (D) The most troublesome mistresses were those of Louis XVI Louis XVI is barely mentioned, and nothing is said about his mistresses. The passage only discusses Louis XV's mistresses facing " tremendously harsh scrutiny ." Eliminate. (E) Louis XIV had more mistresses than Louis XVI While we know Louis XIV had multiple mistresses, Louis XVI's mistresses aren't discussed at all. No comparison can be made. Eliminate. Strategic Framework for Inference Questions: Step 1: Identify what information the passage does provide Step 2: Eliminate answers that: Go beyond what can be reasonably inferred Have no textual support Contradict passage information Step 3: Select the answer with the strongest textual connection, even if not explicitly stated I hope I could help you understand this better now!

minussaepe · Answer

can you please explain the answer choice 3, why it is considered to be a good statesmanship?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

I.  The royal mistress was a  “necessary evil”  in the French court — but that’s specific to the French court, not all monarchies everywhere. So  I  is too broad; the passage doesn’t claim all monarchies have this feature.

II.  Louis XIV wrote his own mythology (propaganda, image control) and that helped him rule effectively. The passage implies this was skillful and kept him in power without major backlash. That suggests  II  is supported.

III.  Nowhere does it say Louis XIV viewed Louis XV as an unsatisfactory heir. Louis XV is mentioned in comparison for having mistresses who meddled more, but that’s not Louis XIV’s opinion, it’s the author’s historical comparison. So  III  is not supported.

Only  II  is supported by the passage hence.

Answer: B

saksham27singh · Answer

can someone provide an explanation for question 2

egmat · Answer

saksham27singh  This is an EXCEPT question, which means you're looking for the answer choice that is  NOT  mentioned in the passage as a reason why Louis XIV's mistresses were less problematic.

Step 1: Locate the Relevant Information

The key information is in paragraph  2 , which directly compares Louis XIV's mistresses to those of Louis XV:

Step 2: Evaluate Each Answer Choice

They were more concerned with securing the futures of their offspring  →  MENTIONED : "more concerned with securing rights for their illegitimate offspring"
 
  There was little freedom for the press under Louis XIV  →  MENTIONED : "Louis' strict control of the presses kept much of the harshest criticism at bay"
 
  They produced more offspring than did those of Louis XV  →  NOT MENTIONED : The passage states Louis XIV fathered  13  illegitimate children, but  never mentions  how many children Louis XV's mistresses had. No comparison of offspring numbers is made.
 
  Louis XIV was a skillful politician  →  MENTIONED : "Louis XIV's absolutist rule certainly had much to do with his mistresses remaining in their 'proper places'"
 
  They were relatively uninterested in affairs of state  →  MENTIONED : "more concerned with securing rights for their illegitimate offspring than with meddling in affairs of the state"

Answer: (C)

Choice (C) is a trap because it  seems  logical - the passage mentions  13  children, so you might assume this is relevant. However, without information about Louis XV's mistresses' offspring, no comparison can be made.

I hope this helps!

Long regarded as a necessary evil, the royal mistress is a classic sta

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Long regarded as a necessary evil, the royal mistress is a classic sta

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