Why was Rose Walker murdered?

Though the first suspect of Rose Walker's murder was Karl Steicher, the sole heir of the Steicher inheritance, this turned out to be false. The real murderer of Rose Walker was her husband Gordon Walker. After the passage of the 1848 Married Woman's Property Act, women were allowed to keep the property they acquired after marriage and this means Gordon could not enjoy them. Moreover, Gordon knew that if Rose left him, she would have the property fully for herself and Gordon will get no share in it. So, he was the one who gained a lot from her murder because he will be the rightful owner of all his deceased wife's property. To achieve this end, he murdered her.

In this book, the very landmark law that was designed to protect women against the cruelties imposed by their husbands and society, became the reason for the murder of Rose Walker. This terrible irony was the central plot of the story and it was well-brought out by Monfredo

Implications of this book on the society

This book by Monfredo is one of the first books of its kind to have a strong female voice. Through this book, the author explains the plight of women during this period and the amount...

It shows the amount of household chores, child bearing and the sexual abuse that women had to go through and this is the reason, Tryon chooses to remain unmarried. Monfredo shows how the society and her family shunned her because Tryon chose to study and develop her intellectual abilities rather than be a married lady and raise kids. Through this book, Tryon also insists that during this period, many women chose to remain like Tryon because of the cruelties that came with married life.
Another important aspect of the book is the way Monfredo chose to combine historical characters such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton into the novel. At the end of the book, she has given a note that talks about the importance of Stanton and other women leaders in the movement.

In short, it is one of the most historically-accurate book that depicts the daily life of women in America during the nineteenth century and the impact of the first woman's right legislation, namely, the Married Woman's Property Act in 1848.