Sob noises misrepresented ruling passion (9)
I believe the answer is:
obsession
'ruling passion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sob noises misrepresented' is the wordplay.
'misrepresented' is an anagram indicator.
'sob'+'noises'='sobnoises'
'sobnoises' with letters rearranged gives 'OBSESSION'.
(Other definitions for obsession that I've seen before include "Mania" , "Compulsion, fixation" , "Persistent preoccupation" , "All-absorbing idea" , "Fixed idea" .)