Sentence:  The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly <WSD>intended</WSD> to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To hope; to wish (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon