Question

Read the excerpt from "The Lady Maid's Bell." Then he turned his back on me, and went on talking to his wife; and I knew what that meant, too. I was not the kind of morsel he was after. The typhoid had served me well enough in one way: it kept that kind of gentleman at arm’s-length. What does the narrator mean when she refers to Mr. Brympton as “that kind of gentleman”? She does not trust Mr. Brympton. She believes Mr. Brympton to be impatient. She thinks Mr. Brympton is too critical. She does not think Mr. Brympton is handsome.

Answer 1

Answer:

She does not trust Mr. Brympton.

Explanation:

Edith Wharton's gothic novel The Lady Maid's Bell, the story revolves around the life of a lady's maid named Hartley who came to work for the Brympton family. Employed at their country estate to look after Mrs. Brympton, Hartley tells the story of how the house seemed out of the ordinary and something weird about it too.

As given in the passage, Hartley narrates how her master Mr. Brympton's demeanor changed after she had suffered from typhoid. Her own words "I was not the kind of morsel he was after" show he's lost interest in her, which is something that she felt happy about. Her relief is seen in the line "Typhoid had served me well enough in one way: it kept that kind of gentleman at arm’s-length", meaning she is safe from most presumably the target of Mr. Brympton's advances. The change in her appearance after the typhoid led to the repulse from the master of the house. But this also shows the kind of man he must be, which the speaker feels grateful for, for he no longer seems to be interested in her.  And this has led us to conclude that  she does not trust him.