lantation home and knocks, desiring to be allowed entrance into the most secretedtroves of old knowledge. As before, he explains that he wants only a dole of a look (ln 31), and does not wish to intrude upon this quiet history. His intent is not to meddleor cause problems; Ransom simply wants to be a student of tradition, and be allowedaccess, if only for a moment, to the grandeur and opulence that the old Southern lifestylepersonifies.However, much to Ransoms great disappointment, he is not met with open armsand enthusiastic welcomes. Instead, he finds himself defeated and unfulfilled. When thedoor is finally opened, he is met with another relic of the old South, a black houseservant, who informs him that he may not come inside. The servant goes on to explainthat The old mistress was ill (ln 37), and asked that Ransom, this stranger, leave hergrounds at once. The mistresss illness, like the decrepit condition of the house itself,illustrates the dire plight of the old South. She, too, has fallen into disrepair, and sits inher plantation home alone, save only for the companionship of a black servant. Herlifestyle is almost extinct, and so the mistress if forced to hide away from modern chaosin her little island of a long forgotten culture. She chooses not to share her secrets andinstead keeps them close, for reasons unknown and inexplicable to Ransom.Left with no other option, Ransom is forced to begin his long trek away from theplantation house. However, he remains haunted by the house itself, this last great relic ofthe old South and all her heritage. As he leaves, he imagines that he can actually see thehouse crumbling before his eyes (ln 41), its mutilated pieces scattering in disarray, andforgotten by the world. This, too, will be the fate of the heritage he wants to protect, ifsomething is not done immediately, a conviction that Ransom makes urgently clear. Yet,he was denied the opportunity to take on this stewardship,...
