Read the following passage carefully before choosing your answer.
Mr. Vance adjusted his neckcloth before entering the dim, vinegar-scented chamber where old Gregory lay. He carried a basket of winter pears—not the choice ones from the south-facing wall of his orchard, which were reserved for his own table, but the smaller, slightly bruised specimens that would otherwise have gone to the pigs. As he stepped over the threshold, he felt a warm wave of self-approval wash over him; he was, after all, a man who did his duty by the parish poor, even when the wind bit like a rusted saw. Gregory did not turn his head, but his eyes, sharp as needles in the pale ruin of his face, fixed upon the visitor. Mr. Vance set the basket on the rickety washstand with a deliberate, soft thud, ensuring the sound conveyed the weight of his charity. 'A small comfort for your affliction, Gregory,' he murmured, casting his eyes downward in what he deemed a fitting display of Christian humility. He waited, expecting the customary murmur of toothless gratitude, the trembling hand raised in blessing. Instead, Gregory’s lips remained pressed into a thin, white line, his gaze dry and unblinking. To Vance, this silence was the mute, overwhelming awe of a simple soul confronted by true nobility—a silence he graciously resolved to forgive.
In the passage, Vance’s interpretation of Gregory’s silence primarily serves to reveal which of the following aspects of Vance's character?
- profound self-absorption, which blinds him to Gregory's quiet resentmentCevap
- Bsincere commitment to Christian humility, which guides his charitable actions
- Cresentment toward the parish duties that force him to visit the sick
- Dcriticism of the harsh physical conditions that Gregory is forced to endure
- Edesire to use Gregory’s illness as a means to gain political influence in the parish