Fear

Near the end of the story, after Stephen has threatened Kate, he asks her if she thinks he is crazy. She tells him, "No. . . . I think you're afraid, just like everybody else." Throughout the story, the characters exhibit many kinds of fear. Kate is afraid of going mad like her father, and carefully monitors herself. Says Kate: "I'd find myself standing in front of mirrors with my heart pounding, searching my eyes for a glimmer of madness." Stephen is also afraid, even though he says at one point that he does not worry about anything. He is afraid of being shamed in front of his friends, so much so that he believes he cannot back out of the jump. As he tells Kate: "For me it's my personal integrity at stake, remember?" Kate reassures him, saying that Stephen has the best technique of anybody in the class, so...