With that in mind, it is clear that Taylor is interested in exploring the time when the events of the story take place, rather than when Elizabeth is actually recalling them. The main theme of the story—Elizabeth's exploration of her family and her attempts to make sense of what the town drunk, Mr. Speed, means to her—are rather timeless themes. However, as is the case with most of Taylor's fiction, the American South is featured prominently; from a historical perspective, this is important in several ways.
With the story set fifty years before the Civil Rights movement, "A Spinster's Tale" provides insight into the racially segregated South of the first half of the twentieth century. This can be seen in the abundance of "Negro" (the accepted term for African Americans at the time).....
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