The epigram to the story provides the first example of foreshadowing: "Little do the townsfolk suspect, though, that the dignified old woman leads another, secret life...". Right from the start, the reader knows to keep a close eye on Miss Strangeworth. In fact, the character's name is an example of foreshadowing. A name like hers raises readers' antennae for odd behavior.
Another example of foreshadowing is when Miss Strangeworth notes a townsperson acting out of character at the grocery store.
"Ran out of sugar for my cake frosting," Mrs. Harper explained. Her hand shook slightly as she opened her pocketbook. Miss Strangeworth wondered, glancing at her quickly, if she had been taking proper care of herself.
Mrs. Harper's shaking hand indicates she is feeling ill at ease. Later in the story, it is revealed that Miss Strangeworth had sent her a letter anonymously, implying that her husband was cheating on her.
Yet another example of foreshadowing is when Miss Strangeworth notices Linda Stewart upset.
"Many people seemed disturbed recently, Miss Strangeworth thought. Only yesterday the Stewarts' fifteen-year-old Linda had run crying down her own front walk and all the way to school."
Linda is upset, the reader finds out later, because her father received a letter that warned him about Dave Harris and his intentions for his daughter. Linda was forbidden to see Dave anymore; again, this was Miss Strangeworth's doing. She believed that "people everywhere were lustful and evil and degraded, and needed to be watched" and it was her duty as the only living Strangeworth to do the watching and the telling.
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