Girton College fits into the novel as it acknowledges the idea of the “New Woman” as means of improving education to become more independent. It is acknowledged in the book as a descriptor of women such as that tenant that begins to live below the sisters. Girton college was founded in 1869 as the first Women’s college in Cambridge, its mission was to instigate steps forward for women’s education and participation in political, social, and economic life. Over 15,000 students have studied at Girton since its founding.
"A dun-coloured haze, thin and transparent, hung in the air, softening the long perspective of the street. School hours were over, and the Girtonian, her arm swinging like a bell-rope, could be discerned on her way home, a devoted cortège of school-girls straggling in her wake" (Chapter XVII).