At first, Marguerite feels as though Mrs. Taylor's death has little effect on her. She says, "At eleven years old, death is more unreal than frightening" (page 160). However, during the funeral service, she says, "on that onerous day...mortality was borne in upon me on sluggish tides of doom" (page 160). In other words, her realization that she is mortal makes Marguerite scared and depressed. When Marguerite is forced to look upon the dead body of Mrs. Taylor, she says the face had "secrets that I never wanted to share." She sees evil in the dead woman's face.
Later, Mr. Taylor tells Marguerite and her family that he saw a vision of a fat angel saying, "I want some children" (page 164). This vision scares Marguerite, and she is seized by fear to the point at which she is afraid even to enter the dark kitchen. She imagines that her dark house is filled with horrors. Marguerite is an impressionable child, and the image of ghosts fills her with fear. However, her mother's calming and sensible words have a quick effect on her, and her fear quickly fades.
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