The statement that best expresses the irony present in the mentioned passage is:
“It is ironic that Aunt Polly is so strict outwardly with Tom and so tender-hearted toward him inwardly”.
Explanation:
The passage describes how Aunt Polly tries to find him in the house from every nook and corner of the house, and once she finds Tom she tries to curb him, but Tom, using his mind tac-tics, outsmarts her and gets a chance to run away from her.
This amuses Aunt Polly as she realizes how Tom always uses the same tricks on her but she never learns from them. This softens her heart as she realizes that children shall be children and that too her own dead sister’s son. She ponders how she needs to look out for him.
This shows that even though she may be strict with Tom from the outside, inwardly she cares and looks out for him.
