Final answer:
The narrator criticizes both the Baron and Belinda using satire; the Baron for his ridiculous behavior in snipping the lock, and Belinda for her overly dramatic response, painting not deep malice but the pettiness of their aristocratic society (option c).
Step-by-step explanation:
In Alexander Pope's satirical poem , the narrator criticizes both the Baron and Belinda, though not necessarily with the same intensity or for the same reasons. When the Baron commits the act of snipping the lock of hair from Belinda's head, the narrator does indeed employ a mocking tone, noting the frivolity and overblown nature of the Baron's desire as well as the ridiculousness of the elaborate strategy he deploys to achieve his ends.
However, Belinda's reaction is also subject to the narrator's satirical eye; her excessive despair and the considerable melodrama of the situation are emphasized, reflecting the trivial nature of her vanity and the social circle's misplaced values. The poem as a whole is a critique of the pettiness and superficial concerns of the aristocracy, and the narrator leverages irony and exaggeration to criticize both the Baron's trivial pursuit and Belinda's disproportionate response.
Yet, the poem does not ascribe deep malice to the Baron or paint Belinda as entirely without merit, instead highlighting the silliness of the entire incident in the microcosm of high society.
Hence, the answer is option c.