Journal

I know this is much earlier in the book but I was really curious about Ruth's claim that Madame is afraid of the students. Kathy later explains "she was afraid of us in the same way someone might be afraid of spiders. We hadn't been ready for that. It had never occurred to us to wonder how we would feel, being seen like that, being the spiders" (35). I was interested in this because it was something I didn't necessarily understand (my new years resolution). How could someone with much authority be afraid of the students? And why would she make it known? Does she want them to know she's afraid?  Why is afraid? I really like the comparison to spiders because I know exactly what Kathy was trying to say. Spiders are small and couldn't harm a person, yet humans are still extremely afraid.