In the first paragraph, the words “swum,” “trembled,” and “glittered” primarily serve to

Please choose from one of the following options.

"The fixed and heavy gaze swum, trembled, then glittered in fire; the small, overcast brow cleared; the trivial and dejected features lit up; the sad countenance vanished, and in its place appeared a sudden eagerness, an intense expectancy. "It is!" were her words."

(Choice A)

describe the atmosphere Mr. Home’s presence creates in the room.

(Choice B)

reveal that Paulina has become upset by what she has seen.

(Choice C)

emphasize Paulina’s excitement at what she has seen.

(Choice D)

characterize the effect Paulina’s boredom has had on her appearance.

In Charlotte Bronte's "Villette", the narrator Lucy Snowe left her home to teach at a girl's school in Villette. And it is here that she began an adventurous life of romance and misfortune too.

The given passage is from the initial scenes in the text when Paulina Home is still a very young girl. The words "swum", "trembled" and "glittered" are used in the scene where Polly counted the number of "ladies [that] should go down the street in a given time." In their attempt to keep her occupied, she suddenly changed in her demeanor and dashed out of the house. She had seen her father Mr. Home among the crowd, which will suggest that those words emphasize her excitement at what/ who she has seen.