1. There is a small, quiet town in the story. I think Jackson put it there because small towns can have that effect: Everyone knows everyone else and secrets can stay buried.
2. The people in the town think of Miss Strangeworth as a nice, old lady. They admire her because her family has been in the area for generations.
3. She sends the letters because she believes she is aiding the town. It could also be that she likes to be in power and to control others.
4. I thought the vengeance at the end was justified, but not justified in a human sense, if you know what I mean. Not because it wasn’t suitable – it wasn’t, destroying her roses was unkind.
5. I have a small bit of sympathy for Adela Strangeworth because she lost something that she cared about. But I also believe she created her own problem by harming others.
6. Shirley Jackson may have written this story to demonstrate how malignant gossip, and judgment, can be. She hoped to make people think a little more about the damage done by words.
7. I concur, the story remains as true today as it ever did. People gossip whether behind the scenes or on social media and share hurtful words or secret remarks in secret, just as Miss Strangeworth does in her letters.