How does the author further the theme of ignorance and obscurity?

This chapter also further the develops the theme of ignorance and obscurity. So far, the theme has mainly been manifested by the style of narration, but now the characters' ignorance becomes an important element of the story. Rattner's widow and child both are laboring under the utterly false notion that their husband and father was a completely honest man who was unfairly taken away from them, somehow. Hhowever, ow they know he is actually dead is unclear; the man on the orchard evidently never revealed the corpse on his property to anyone, as evidenced by the fact that it is still there.)