 Has Matilda changed the end of the story?
The best that could be said for Matilda Penshaws was that she was something of a paradox. The first thing the widow Penshaws did was to take Matilda's left hand in her own and examine the next-to-the-last finger. All others need not apply. Twenty years from now, this could be Matilda Penshaws—complete with plain gray dress, rimless spectacles, gray hair, suspicious eyes, and a broom-stick figure....
 Yes. She’s more grounded now, and less naive.
 No. She still hasn’t found a husband, and will likely be Pen Pals again.  No. She’s still looking for fantasies, as evidence by her looking up at the shooting star.  Yes. She is like Mrs. Gorky no3, chasing after impossible theories.  Yes. She’s more grounded now, and less naive.