D. the general public. your answer is correct. it says at a public meeting in the beginning of the short story.
Besides, Sylvia had all the time there was, and very little use to make of it. Sometimes in pleasant weather it was a consolation to look upon the cow's pranks as an intelligent attempt to play hide and seek, and as the child had no playmates she lent herself to this amusement with a good deal of zest.
The setting of the play is set in the Royal Court of Denmark which was the seat of power during the late middle ages. The whole feel of the play also screamed middle ages. There are also allusions to the Protestant Reformation which only happened during the late middle ages.
The reference to only fearing "fear itself" at the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird is an allusion to Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural speech.
The entire ship's crew is vulnerable and scared, and Rainsford is saying it's all just imagination but everyone is susceptible
