In Passage 1, Tocqueville expresses concern that treating men and women as identical would likely harm both genders, rather than benefit them. This sentiment can be seen most clearly in the second paragraph, when he writes that "it may readily be conceived, that by thus attempting to make one sex equal to the other, both are degraded."
Choice A is incorrect because Tocqueville says treating men and women as identical in nature would result in the degradation of both genders, a condition closer to oppression than to freedom from oppression. Choice C is incorrect because Tocqueville does not address the issue of whether men might ultimately try to reclaim any authority they lost as a result of the treatment of both genders as identical. Choice D is incorrect because in the passage, Tocqueville never claims that treating men and women the same would result in superfluous privileges for either.