The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

In 1903, left-wing feminist Elizabeth Magie invented The Landlord’s Game, the original version of what became Monopoly. It was designed as a powerful teaching tool to illustrate the dangers of monopolies and how wealth could concentrate in the hands of a few. The game featured a circular path, properties, and a “Go to Jail” space. Magie created two rule sets: one “monopolist” version where players crushed opponents through accumulation, and another, more radical “Prosperity” version, where everyone shared in the wealth, promoting fairness and equity. Years later, unemployed Charles Darrow sold a simplified version to Parker Brothers. They paid Magie only $500 for her patent—without royalties—and credited Darrow as the sole inventor. For decades, his tale of inventing the game in his basement remained the official story, while Magie’s name and her original, anti-capitalist message were left in the shadows.

The main argument of the passage is that Elizabeth Magie originally created the game as an anti-monopoly, anti-capitalist teaching tool, but her idea and message were later appropriated, simplified, and credited to Charles Darrow, leaving her largely unrecognised and poorly compensated. Option (a) captures this essence best because it highlights all the key elements together:(i) Magie’s left-wing feminist identity, (ii) the irony of her losing credit, (iii) the role of Darrow in selling a version of the game, (iv) the small payment she received, and (v) the denial of royalties. It reflects both the historical injustice and the irony that a game meant to critique monopolies ended up enacting one against its own creator.

Option (b) overstates Darrow and Parker Brothers as “celebrated icons” and focuses more on their success than on Magie’s original intent and the loss of her anti-capitalist message. Option (c) is incorrect because it repeats the very myth the passage is trying to debunk by portraying Darrow as the true innovator. Option (d) shifts the focus too heavily onto Parker Brothers’ capitalist motives and underplays the central irony and misattribution surrounding Magie herself. Hence, option (a) is the best summary.