# VII: An Accident Befalls the Candle explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

Aunt Margaret, after a tense encounter with the impertinent maid, remains awake late into the night. She observes suspicious activity in the stable-yard involving Nell and a man with a dog. The maid confronts her about burning candle and fire late, inspects Winnie's feet, and ultimately extinguishes the candle, leaving Aunt Margaret in darkness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and the Uncanny

The maid's intrusive behavior and the mysterious atmosphere of the inn evoke a sense of unease and the uncanny.

### Social Class and Decay

Aunt Margaret's struggle to assert authority over the impertinent maid highlights tensions between social classes and the decay of traditional hierarchies.

## Character check-ins

### Aunt Margaret

Defiantly keeps watch at the window, confronts the maid, and is left without light.

### Winnie Dobbs

Sleeps soundly by the fire while Aunt Margaret remains awake.

### Nell Gorman

Seen talking and gesticulating with the man in the stable-yard, pointing up at Aunt Margaret's window.

## Key lines

> My Aunt stood for a while with her back to the fire, very erect, and her nose in air, sniffing defiantly toward the door through which that 'most impertinent woman' had disappeared.

Aunt Margaret stood proudly by the fire, looking disdainfully at the door the rude maid had left through.

_Establishes Aunt Margaret's defiant posture and her irritation with the maid._

> The woman walked into the house without speaking; the man called the dog, and strolled away towards the stable.

The maid entered silently, and the man whistled for the dog and walked to the stable.

_Highlights the mysterious behavior of the inn's staff._

> I do believe that, if she was enraged, Aunt Margaret was also the least bit in the world cowed by this woman.

Aunt Margaret was both angry and slightly intimidated by the maid.

_Reveals Aunt Margaret's complex emotional state._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vii-an-accident-befalls-the-candle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters