Mrs. Trenchards figure contains all the jealous stubbornness of a strong parent who does not want to let go of his child. Her strength lies mainly in her ability, as she is understood to be unsympathetic, to impose creative possibilities on those whom she loves, and singles out a caring Catherine as a person whose fate she wants to control. When Katherine agrees to be engaged during the year, she realizes the need to pay any reasonable price to keep her mother and Trenchards.