It began in a Woman's Club in London on a February afternoon-an uncomfortable club, and a miserable afternoon-when Mrs. Wilkins, who had come down from Hampstead to shop and had lunched at her club, took up The Times from the table in the smoking-room, and running
her listless eye down the Agony Column saw this:
To Those who appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine. Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let furnished for
the month of April. Necessary servants remain. Z. Box 1000, The Times.
That was its conception; yet, as in the case of many another, the conceiver was unaware of it at the moment.
So entirely unaware was Mrs. Wilkins that her April for that year had then and there been settled for her that she dropped the newspaper
with a gesture that was both irritated and resigned, and went over to the window and stared drearily out at the dripping street.
Not for her were mediaeval castles, even those that are specially described as small. Not for her the shores in April of the Mediterranean,
and the wistaria and sunshine. Such delights were only for the rich.
(from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim)
How does the setting of the passage affect the reader's understanding of Mrs. Wilkins?
1. It embodies her enjoyment of her club.
2. It confirms her feelings of dread for the approaching spring.
3. It emphasizes her discontent with her situation.
4. It shows her anticipation of springtime in London.