One reason for the narrators despair is

she wants to get away from the house and go home

she wants to write but is not allowed to do anything

she is overburdened with household duties

she is sick and is afraid she might die

atmospheres is the answer to your question.

explanation:

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.