Hall's prose lulls the reader, contrasting an increasingly ominous mood with an overall calm tone. Hall does not have a great love for her characters in the tone of the story, although she shows some sympathy for the woman's plight. Only at the climax does the prose quicken, and then only for a moment before a terrible calm takes over again. It also shows where the real priorities lie. There is no mournful pause for a dead man, but there is a solemnity in the woman's retreat, allowing the reader to understand what the woman's safety cost.