Regarding Karen not looking like herself, I’ve been thinking about it. While the divorce was certainly a difficult chapter, I wouldn’t put it at the top of the list as the main reason for her appearance that day. Karen initiated the divorce, and it seems she had been preparing for it for quite some time. There also appears to have been a cooling‑off period in the marriage, so it likely didn’t strike her husband like a sudden thunderbolt. Still painful, of course, but not entirely unexpected.
Her new projects and activities in the village suggested she was looking ahead to an interesting future. That’s why I’m inclined to think her stress and paleness on that particular day might have been caused by something that threatened those future plans. Pure speculation, but perhaps her JFG told her he valued her as a close friend yet wasn’t considering marriage. If Karen leaned toward a more traditional outlook and didn’t want to remain just a “female friend,” that could have been emotionally difficult. Stress like that could easily make someone look pale or skip makeup altogether.
As for her age and health, we don’t know whether she had any medical appointments that day. It’s possible she had received worrying news. I’m also unsure whether she was competing in the wine contest or had her own wine exhibited. If she did, I imagine it would have been in small quantities, nothing that would threaten anyone’s market position. And I wouldn’t expect Karen, at this stage of life, to be preparing to enter the local wine market competitively. She seemed more like someone hoping for a pleasant retirement, perhaps with a bit of income from real estate or a small niche venture.
Her new projects and activities in the village suggested she was looking ahead to an interesting future. That’s why I’m inclined to think her stress and paleness on that particular day might have been caused by something that threatened those future plans. Pure speculation, but perhaps her JFG told her he valued her as a close friend yet wasn’t considering marriage. If Karen leaned toward a more traditional outlook and didn’t want to remain just a “female friend,” that could have been emotionally difficult. Stress like that could easily make someone look pale or skip makeup altogether.
As for her age and health, we don’t know whether she had any medical appointments that day. It’s possible she had received worrying news. I’m also unsure whether she was competing in the wine contest or had her own wine exhibited. If she did, I imagine it would have been in small quantities, nothing that would threaten anyone’s market position. And I wouldn’t expect Karen, at this stage of life, to be preparing to enter the local wine market competitively. She seemed more like someone hoping for a pleasant retirement, perhaps with a bit of income from real estate or a small niche venture.