Passion in Wood Beyond the World

   Many books today, especially in the fantasy genre, have scenes of a somewhat explicit nature.  Is it appropriate for them to be fit in? Does it add or does it detract from the story?  It seems that this is a difficult question to answer.  In some stories a moment of passion may in fact enhance the flow of the story and be rather important.
   In the Wood Beyond the World, Walter spends an evening with the Lady.  This scene could have been left out, but to what effect?  As he walks with the Lady to where they will spend the night he describes her as: "she was now grown so sweet and kind, and even somewhat timid and shy with him, scarce did he know who's hand he held" (120).
   This description is vastly important.  For the rest of the novel we see her as evil and vindictive towards the Maid.  However, in this moment she is a woman alone with a man she plans to be intimate with.  While we see no other moments of complete gentility from the Lady, this serves to make us wonder about her true nature.  For myself, I was wondering if it was the Maid in disguise, testing his loyalty.
    Also this scene shows us the way Walter follows, the the letter, what the Maid tells him.  She, from the very beginning, wants him to fool the Lady into believing that his eyes are set on her and not upon the Maid.  What better way to accomplish this than to lie down with her?  Although, I doubt very much that Walter was too bothered by the proposition.
   It seems that this moment is rather important.  Had it been left out we may have not had quite as many insights.  Also, it would not have seemed so appropriate for the Lady's extreme reaction when she thought that Walter was being unfaithful.  So it is, in this story and in this scene, okay for passion to be unbridled.