"She Lived Among the Untrodden Paths." Speaker The speaker of the poem is anonymous, genderless, and only uses a first-person pronoun once ("me," the poem's final word), but he or she expresses intense feelings that inform the reader about his or her character. The speaker is probably a young man because women were not supposed to go out into the world without a husband or father present. His or her emotions are remorse, regret, sadness, and longing for the woman he has lost. The speaker meets Lady Geraldine while out walking and they talk until midnight. He learns that she lived among the untrodden paths because her family had money issues and couldn't pay for a guide to lead them through the woods. He also finds out that she was alone in the world because her parents died when she was very young. Finally, it becomes clear that he feels responsible for her being out at night because people weren't allowed to go out alone back then. He wants to get married so he can protect her but she refuses him because she is already promised to another man. However, just before they part company, she gives him her hand as a promise. The poem is mostly spoken in monologues where the speaker explains what happened between himself and Lady Geraldine. But there is also a short second scene in which the speaker sees someone coming down the path ahead of him and assumes this person is Lady Geraldine's fiancé.