Sentence:  Written as a <WSD>ripost</WSD> to Samuel Constant's short story Le Mari sentimental, in which the husband is driven to despair and ultimately suicide by his carping wife, Mistress Henly begins with an account of the wife's reading of the Constant story and how as a reader she links the text of imagination to the realities of her own life. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An answer or reply, rapidly uttered, in response to a question or problem.