What is the meaning of sobbed?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:
“Why?” said he, for his wish to go in was now stronger.
“Because if you go in there, you will have to inclination to remain with me, and I want you to stay. If you only knew!”
“Well, what?”And with a violent movement, he opened the glazed door. The smell of carbolic acid seemed almost to strike him in the face, and what he saw made him recoil still more, for on a small iron bedstead lay the dead body of a woman fantastically illuminated by a single wax candle. In horror, he turned to escape.
“Stop, my dear,” the woman sobbed; and clinging to him, she told him amid a flood of tears that her friend had died two days previously, and that there was no money to bury her. She said,” You can understand that I want it to be a respectable funeral; we were so very fond of each other! Stop here, my dear, do stop. I only want ten francs more. Don’t go away?
They had gone back into the bedroom, and she was trying to detain him:
“No,” he said,” let me go. I will give you ten francs, but I will not stay here; I cannot
He took his purse out of his pocket, extracted a ten-franc piece, put it on the table, and then went to the door. When he had reached it, a thought suddenly struck him, as if somebody were reasoning with him, without his knowledge.
“Why lose these ten francs? Why not profit by this woman’s good intentions. She certainly behaved pluckily, and if I had not known about the matter, I should certainly not have gone away for some time. Well then?
Then other obscurer suggestions whispered to him:
“She was her friend! They were so fond of each other! Was it friendship or love? Oh! Love apparently.Well, it would really be avenging morality, if this woman were forced to be faithless to that monstrous love.” Then he turned round to her and said in a trembling voice: “Look here! If I give you twenty francs instead of ten, I suppose you could buy some flowers for her, as well?”
The unhappy woman’s face brightened with pleasure and gratitude.
“Will you really give me twenty?”
“Yes,” he replied,” and more perhaps. It quite depends upon yourself.”