Sentence:  Captain Edward Carlisle...felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,nb...; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet <WSD>so</WSD> superb a woman as this under handicap <WSD>so</WSD> hard. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Very (positive clause).