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Mrs. Tilley is a kind elderly woman who has taken Sylvia into her home, presumably to help her with farm work and keep her company. Although she lives in a remote forest, Mrs. Tilley is friendly and generous to the hunter when he arrives at her home unexpectedly. Mrs. Tilley is melancholy about the difficulties of her life, mostly the children she has lost and the opportunities she was never afforded, but she smiles when she thinks about how much Sylvia enjoys rural life at her home. Sylvia’s love of nature reminds Mrs. Tilley of her son Dan, whom she hasn’t seen since he left home. Also like Dan, Sylvia helps take care of the home, animals, and other chores at the country home so that Mrs. Tilley likely considers her a replacement for him. Like Sylvia, Mrs. Tilley seems to take comfort in the peace of the farm and the surrounding landscape even though she says she probably would have traveled the world if she had been given the chance. Mrs. Tilley speaks in a strong dialect that helps categorize her as a country person who is far removed and unaware of many of the contemporary comforts available in the city.

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