Later on, the narrator describes this hands-off approach as a good thing, especially when it comes to Matilda's intelligence: "it was probably a good thing that she [Mrs. Phelps] did not allow herself to be completely carried away by it all. […] She was someone who minded her own business and had long since discovered it was seldom worth while to interfere with other people's children" (1.47). By minding her own business, Mrs. Phelps help Matilda to mind hers.