How was this vile nervous fit, for such I now persuaded myself it was, to be conquered? I determined to force myself not to look at the painting but to undress quickly and get into bed. I began to undress, but in spite of every effort I could not keep myself from stealing a glance every now and then at the picture; and a glance was now sufficient to distress me. Even when my back was turned to it, the idea of this strange face behind me, peering over my shoulder, was insufferable. . . . I had grown nervous to a dismal degree. –“The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture,” Washington Irving What is the effect of Irving’s word choice in this passage? It shows how nervous the painting makes the narrator. It shows how relaxed the narrator feels as he gets ready for bed. It makes the reader think that nothing important will happen. It makes the reader uninterested in the painting.