Act 83 opens with a flashback to the time when the Governess and her daughter were living in Touwa. The Governess laments the fact that her daughter's appearance has always drawn the attention of the townspeople. She tells her daughter that she is happy to be reunited with her father and mother. She says that she has always wanted to go to Touwa, but when she heard about the kidnapping, she fled to the west. She now fears that the news of the abduction has spread through Touwa like wildfire. She goes on to say that she had not given up her notice of absence just to get her daughter back. She had gone looking for her daughter with hope in his heart. He says that if the news had not spread, he would have cracked her skull open and she would have come back to live with him. He adds that his blood pressure is rising and he fears that his daughter will not live to see her mother again. He wonders why they are trying to divide them, and he wonders if it is actually wrong for them to be separated. He thinks that if they were to be divided, then they would never be able to see each other again.