Guilt is an underlying metaphor in the narrative. Barbie swears twice that she feels no guilt about her relationship with her uncle. Yet she admits feeling that people are spying on her, which seems to contradict her assertion. Before she arrives at Miss Banderry's house, she imagines that the vines on the terrace "leaned on the balustrade spying down upon [her], or so [she] thought." This initial sense of guilt may be a result of her involvement in her uncle's deceitful game with Miss Banderry.