Question

delighted in sharing ghost stories about the bailey mansion with the other house girls. \ghosts? stuff and nonsense!\ edith always said. but frances thought that edith might be singing a different tune if she were in francess shoes, stuck cleaning this gloomy parlor alone.
running her feather duster over ornate picture frames, frances heard a rustling behind her. she whirled around, looking for a mouse. mrs. bailey loathed mice, developing elaborate systems for their entrapment. frances saw nothing, but continued to hear a faint scratching sound. she crept into the shadows, gasping when her sleeve brushed the edge of the sheeted piano.
she took a deep breath and tried to steady her beating heart. its just a mouse, she reminded herself.
but as she scanned for a furry creature where the dark mahogany wall met the floor, she found something else. carved into the wall was a rectangle a few feet high. the edges lined up with the pattern of the wall, making it nearly invisible. a hidden door, thought frances, reaching out and touching a rusted latch. the rustling, now louder than any mouse, was clearly coming from the other side.
how does being in the parlor affect frances?
being in the parlor strengthens francess belief that the mansion is haunted.
being in the parlor makes frances resentful of mrs. bailey for making her clean it.
being in the parlor makes frances wish she had not shared ghost stories.

Explanation:

The text describes Frances's experience in the parlor, including her reactions and discoveries. The question "How does being in the parlor affect Frances?" is about analyzing her psychological and emotional response to the environment. Psychology (a subfield of Social Science) deals with human behavior and mental processes, which aligns with understanding how the parlor setting impacts Frances's thoughts, feelings, and actions. Among the options, "Being in the parlor strengthens Frances’s belief that the mansion is haunted" fits because her exploration (finding the hidden door, strange sounds) in the parlor supports her belief in the mansion being haunted. The other options: "resentful" isn't supported (she's more curious/nervous), "wish not shared ghost stories" is not indicated, and the focus is on her belief about the mansion, not just being in the parlor generally.

Answer:

Being in the parlor strengthens Frances’s belief that the mansion is haunted.