The sentences that contribute to a sense of hope are "<span>She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window." First of all, she sees trees that are trembling with new life. A peddler was selling his goods. She could hear a distant song which someone was singing, and songs usually mean good spirit in works of literature.
</span>
The author is most likely trying to create a sense of Relief
The beam of wood looks like a club or a a staff. It looks like a large olive tree or like a mast of a ship with twenty oars (a very big mast).
Hope this helps :)
