Women's roles
This theme is explored in the difference between Miss Harper and Mrs. Borden. Miss Harper is unmarried and with no children while Mrs. Borden is surrounded by them and also expecting. Both women are close in age. Miss Harper looks upon her with contempt and as a baby-making machine and compares her children to cattle. This contempt is mutual as Mrs. Borden considers that Miss Harper is hindering Katherine in finding a potential husband, she fears that Miss Harper is teaching the young girl to follow in her footsteps. While Mrs. Borden is there as a support to her husband in management of the property Miss Harper was the one who took the pride in managing it herself before it was sold to the Bordens. It is not to say that either of these women's roles and choices they made are right or wrong as they are both witty and capable in their respective ways.
Fear of loneliness
The reason for Miss Harper's obsession with young Katherine stems out of fear of loneliness. As the time passes the woman grows more and more possessive of the girl wanting to keep her all to herself; the obsession is taking on a more disturbing aura instead of a caring one. It is safe to say that Miss Harper often seems as a jealous lover; there are hints of this sort of emotion towards the girl as Miss Harper often times admires the young girl's youthful figure and her mannerisms. The underlying issue is the loneliness and the fear that Katherine might one day abandon her, that she will grow old and alone.
