Read the excerpt from The Awakening. A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her,—the light which, showing the way, forbids it.

At that early period it served but to bewilder her. It moved her to dreams, to thoughtfulness, to the shadowy anguish which had overcome her the midnight when she had abandoned herself to tears.

Which best describes the aesthetic impact the author intends this excerpt to have upon the reader?
A. an emotional response
B. a visual of the setting
C. emotional distance
D. a sense of peace