According to this excerpt from "Loneliness . . . an American Malady" by Carson McCullers, what paradox do people struggle with in life?

Consciousness of self is the first abstract problem that the human being solves. Indeed, it is this self-consciousness that removes us from lower animals. This primitive grasp of identity develops with constantly shifting emphasis through all our years. Perhaps maturity is simply the history of those mutations that reveal to the individual the relation between himself and the world in which he finds himself.

After the first establishment of identity there comes the imperative need to lose this new-found sense of separateness and to belong to something larger and more powerful than the weak, lonely self. The sense of moral isolation is intolerable to us.

A.
Self-consciousness arises at an early age, but people continue to develop personality in later years.
B.
Maturity can only be gained once people become more aware of their personal needs.
C.
Even though other animals are unaware of self, humans and other animals still struggle with social conformity.
D.
Gaining awareness of one’s “self” causes a person to yearn for companionship with others.

Read the excerpt from act 3 of a doll’s house. mrs. linde: you seemed to me to imply that with me you might have been quite another man. krogstad: i am certain of it. mrs. linde: is it too late now? krogstad: christine, are you saying this deliberately? yes, i am sure you are. i see it in your face. have you really the courage, then—? mrs. linde: i want to be a mother to someone, and your children need a mother. we two need each other. nils, i have faith in your real character—i can dare anything together with you. krogstad [grasps her hands]. , , christine! now i shall find a way to clear myself in the eyes of the world. ah, but i forgot— how does the conflict in this passage develop a theme? mrs. linde creates a conflict by promising something she cannot give to krogstad, which develops the theme that empty promises can destroy relationships. krogstad continues the conflict by choosing clearing his name over having a life with mrs. linde, which develops the theme that you must often choose yourself over others. krogstad creates a conflict by deceiving mrs. linde about his intentions, which develops the theme that, in love, actions speak louder than words. mrs. linde resolves the conflict by committing to a new life with krogstad, which develops the theme that new beginnings are always possible.