Based on the context of this excerpt from w. w. jacobs's "the monkey's paw," what does the word placidly mean?

without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of laburnam villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

completing a task in a frantic manner
having a particular motive for an action
appearing to be calm and relaxed
acting harshly or stubbornly

Based on the context of this excerpt from W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw," the word placidly means "appearing to be calm and relaxed"

Explanation:

"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs is a story that has constant situations of suspense and excitement, but in this specific excerpt we can see the description of a very peaceful scene, the atmosphere, and the mood are relaxed and do not have any expression of hectic behavior, the vocabulary used also reflect the peace from the characters.

summary - a brief statement or account of the main points of something.

main idea - the main idea is defined as the main point of a speech or piece of writing.

paragraph - a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.