“Branchville likes to talk, and my older girls who live here with my brother don’t need any more dirt slung upon them by the sharp tongues of those who think they’ve been deemed by God to lay judgment.”

Gertrude makes this statement as she slinks through town, sporting a black eye. She worries about gossip because it has real social consequences for her daughters. Being shunned by the community can limit their access to resources. The closed communities of Branchville value their inhabitants for superficial respectability.

“Life has all at once grown exponentially larger than I could have ever dreamed. Electricity, the automobile and now the telephone have made it clear that possibility is endless for an enterprising mind.”

Annie is talking about inventions that are still novel in the early 20th century. Her comment also indirectly reflects the narrow-minded clannishness that has prevailed in her part of the world for centuries. The outside world now promises to intrude on the quiet, agricultural landscape South Carolina, where change is unwelcome.

“If it means a chance for them girls to live with food in their bellies. I will go to hell or jail, whichever comes first, but if they have a chance, I mean to give it to them, even if killing casts a shadow on their name.”

Gertrude is declaring her willingness to sacrifice her own life to give her daughters a better future. This speaks to the theme of Maternal Anger and Strength, but it also indirectly casts light on another problem facing her. Gossip has real power to make or break social positions in the community. Gertrude doesn’t mind killing Alvin as much as she minds the taint on her family name if her crime is brought to light.