Read this excerpt from chapter 2 of the scarlet letter. standing on that miserable eminence, she saw again her native village, in old england, and her paternal home; a decayed house of gray stone, with a poverty-stricken aspect, but retaining a half-obliterated shield of arms over the portal, in token of antique gentility. what is the effect of the underlined words in this excerpt? they impart a frustrated mood. they impart a sympathetic mood. they portray a former setting with humility and dignity. they portray a former setting with judgment and distaste.