In the introduction that frames the "fairytale" section of the story, Gordimer discusses hearing a creak on the floorboards in her house at night. This immediately raises her fears of an intruder and brings to mind the fear well-to-do white people in her South African community have of black violence. She notes that her house is not burglar-proof and that her windows could be easily shattered. She recalls several recent murder incidents:

A woman was murdered (how do they put it) in broad daylight in a house two blocks away, last year, and the fierce dogs who guarded an old widower and his collection of antique clocks were strangled before he was knifed by a casual laborer he had dismissed without pay.

This connects to the fear of home invaders that the family in the fairytale portion of the story has. This fear causes them to put up the high wall and the razor wire that entangles their young son. Gordimer deals with her fear of violence and home invasion by understanding that walls and defenses are not what keep people in a society safe—what really keeps people safe is building a more equitable social structure.