Question

this excerpt is from a novel about a nobleman who wants to become a knight.
from don quixote of the mancha
the master himself was about fifty years old, a strong, hard - featured man with a withered face. he was an early riser, and had once been very fond of hunting. but now for a great portion of the year he applied himself wholly to reading the old books of knighthood, and this with such keen delight that he forgot all about the pleasures of the chase, and neglected all household matters. his mania and folly grew to such a pitch that he sold many acres of his lands to buy books of the exploits and adventures of the knights of old. these he took for true and correct histories, and when his friends the curate of the village, or mr. nicholas the worthy barber of the town, came to see him, he would dispute with them as to which of the knights of romance had done the greatest deeds.
(from don quixote of the mancha by miguel de cervantes saavedra, retold by judge parry)
this sentence is from the passage.
\his mania and folly grew to such a pitch that he sold many acres of his lands to buy books of the exploits and adventures of the knights of old.\
which meaning of the word mania is used in the sentence?

1. craving
2. fixation
3. wildness
4. yearning

Explanation:

In the passage, "mania" describes the character's extreme, all-consuming obsession with knightly books that leads him to sell his lands and neglect his life. "Fixation" means an intense, obsessive preoccupation, which matches this context. "Craving" and "yearning" refer to strong desires but not the extreme, irrational obsession implied here, while "wildness" does not fit the meaning at all.

Answer:

1. fixation