“She sat beside him on the bench, and her presence troubled him. He was inside the atmosphere, or light or scent she spread, as a boat is inside the drag of a whirlpool…”
Eugenia is illustrated as an attractive Victorian woman with enchanting beauty and also openhearted. William is therefore instantly enthralled by her on the spot and asks her hand in marriage soon after. The statement demonstrates how her presence and appearance exuded the essence of Victorian womanhood. However, later in their marriage, they grow apart and also uncovers very disturbing truths about Eugenia. The narrative showcases how the era was a time when outward perception was what mattered considering the prim nature of the period. Therefore highlights how unsettling and dark secrets were held behind closed doors while portraying a moralistic civilization.
“You are accompanied through life, Emily Jesse occasionally understood, not only by the beloved and accusing departed, but by your own ghost too, also accusing, also unappeased.”
The second narrative “The Conjugial Angel” entails much about spiritualism and séances. The characters in the story are experiencing grief and seek closure or rather coping mechanisms through making contact with the ‘next world’. Thus, the assertion refers to the nature of always being in the presence of dead loved ones and also dealing with your own grief. Alluding to the process of grief and how the Victorian era was enamored with the idea of ephemerality, exorcism, and contacting the dead.
