Read this excerpt from Chapter 1 of Twenty Years at Hull House and answer the question.

"I do not know that I commonly dwelt much upon my personal appearance, save as it thrust itself as an incongruity into my father’s life, and in spite of unending evidence to the contrary, there were even black moments when I allowed myself to speculate as to whether he might not share the feeling. Happily, however, this specter was laid before it had time to grow into a morbid familiar by a very trifling incident."

What tone is created by the language in the first sentence of the excerpt?
anxious
critical
pensive
stern