Settings play a key role in establishing the characters of this terrific short story all about the way that a woman is able to manipulate her way into a wealthy marriage, in spite of an incident that almost derails her chances of securing her prize. Key to the introduction of this story is the setting and in particular the location of Brantain:
Brantain sat in one of these shadows; it had overtaken him and he did not mind. The obscurity lent him courage to keep his eyes fastened as ardently as he liked upon the girl who sat in the firelight.
Of course, as we discover as we read the rest of the story, Brantain is sat in shadow in more than one way. His attachment to the beautiful woman he is watching means that he is "in the dark" symbolically about her true nature and her true motivation for pursuing him. Notice too how other details of the setting foreshadow the way that Brantain is being tricked and gulled:
It was still quite light out of doors, but inside with the curtains drawn and the smouldering fire sending out a dim, uncertain glow, the room was full of deep shadows.
Words such as "dim," "uncertain" and "shadows" suggest that something slightly underhand is going on, an impression that is confirmed when we realise that Miss Nathalie has another lover and is only after Brantain for his money.
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