But Dulcibel had made a deadly enemy.
It was unfortunate, for the maiden already had many who disliked her among the young people of the village.

She was a superior person for one thing, and "gave herself airs," as some said.

To be superior, without having wealth or an acknowledged high social position, is always to be envied, and often to be hated.

Then again, Dulcibel dressed with more richness and variety of costume than was usual in the Puritan villages.
This set many of the women, both young and old, against her.

Her scarlet bodice, especially, was a favorite theme for animadversion; some even going so far as to call her ironically "the scarlet woman." It is curious how unpopular a perfectly amiable, sweet-tempered and sweet-tongued maiden may often become, especially with her own sex, because of their innate feeling that she is not, in spite of all her courteous endeavors, really one of them.