Cultural/Political

At the end of chapter three, the governess has her first encounter with the ghostly figure of the man. I found this interesting, because she has just come from a stroll around the grounds alone. Upon seeing the figure of the man, she notes that “An unknown man in a lonely place is a permitted object of fear to a young woman privately bred.” This seems like a little remark on a woman’s position in a late 1800’s society. Women out on their own were understandably weary of unknown men. The governess implies that her fear of this unknown man comes from her position as a woman, which is a permitted object to fear based on her society. This passage seems like a purposely added tidbit to further add to the governesses reaction to seeing the strange man based on her gender.