A. hale means healthy and strong :)
<span>Maman's mother did not approve of divorce. Maman was married to Celestin, a man who was abusive toward her. Not only was he abusive, but he would leave her for long periods of time, not taking care of her physically or emotionally. Maman meets with a lawyer regarding this situation, and the lawyer advises her to divorce. Maman speaks with her mother, who tells her that divorce is unacceptable.</span>
B) My headache is killing me. It is not literally killing him, it is an exaggerated statement.
The best answer would be Letter B - to entertain.
The author merely would like to provide amusement to the readers at his expense. It certainly does not persuade, explain, nor inform anything since it states - <span>But why bother with the descriptions; you’ve probably already grasped the idea!</span> - which could be taken as a witticism.