Still, surely the sister proprietors feared some of their less enlightened boarders might be loath to live at close quarters with this particular stranger, in case Eliza’s difference somehow rubbed off?
-- Narrator (Close Quarters )

Importance: Rhetorical questions such as this one serve a double purpose in the novel, expressing the uncertainties of Eliza but also of the author. Donoghue imagines how her protagonist feels about not sharing a room, while taking the opportunity to broach possibilities – since the historian cannot answer the question any more than Eliza can. “It might be a mark of the Head’s trust in Eliza’s good conduct,” she tells herself; “Respect for her fortune too? Perhaps her guardian, Dr. Duffin, even pays Miss Hargrave extra for this privacy; Eliza’s never mustered the courage to ask” (9). Through this technique, the novel leaves questions open for the reader, instead of presenting speculation as fact. Taking a key or...