It is the same! —for, be it joy or sorrow,
the path of its departure still is free:
man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow;
nought may endure but mutability.

what is emphasized by shelley’s metaphorical statement that "the path of its
departure still is free”?

no path is ever the same.
time passes by very quickly.
emotions are ever changing.
all people feel joy and sorrow.

The right answer is C Emotions are ever changing. The poem itself talks about the author’s perspective of humans, how important are their actions in the change of their life. In this particular excerpt the emphasis is on how change cannot be stop itself no matter the feelings or actions of humans. The author underestimates what humans do and feel because the power of mutation is bigger than them.