Question

Read the excerpt from "The Lady Maid's Bell."

But that wasn’t the only queer thing in the house. The very next day I found out that Mrs. Brympton had no nurse; and then I asked Agnes about the woman I had seen in the passage the afternoon before. Agnes said she had seen no one, and I saw that she thought I was dreaming. To be sure, it was dusk when we went down the passage, and she had excused herself for not bringing a light; but I had seen the woman plain enough to know her again if we should meet. I decided that she must have been a friend of the cook’s, or of one of the other women servants: perhaps she had come down from town for a night’s visit, and the servants wanted it kept secret. Some ladies are very stiff about having their servants’ friends in the house overnight. At any rate, I made up my mind to ask no more questions.
Which statement describes a gothic element in this excerpt that reflects a social attitude of Wharton’s time?

Answer 1

I believe the correct answer is B. The narrator does not trust what Agnes tells her.

This is a gothic element because there's obviously a great mystery in the house, that is being hidden from the newcomer. Furthermore, her predecessor has died, and the reason is unclear. In Wharton's time and before, servants, maids, and other members of the lower social classes were to come to the rich mansions and do their duty without inquiring or showing any kind of inquisitiveness, even when the issue concerns them very much. Agnes, as a loyal servant, partakes in this secrecy, and won't admit to the speaker that something strange is happening.

Answer 2

Answer:

b

Explanation: