[Grammar] Meaning of might in a text written in the past tense

[Tiziano]

Hello everybody. I’m reading an interesting essay on famous crimes committed in Britain in the 19th century and in the chapter devoted to the notorious Jack the Ripper I stumbled upon a sentence where the use of the modal verb ‘might’ is not really clear - at least to me. Here’s the excerpt:

”The death of Martha Tabram aroused little interest, a common fate for these women (i.e. prostitutes), frequently alcoholic, all of them at the outer edges of poverty. At attack of particular ferocity might attract passing interest: four months earlier, Emma Smith had been gang-raped, including with a blunt instrument ‘with great force’, and then robbed. The level of violence (...) made her story worth a sentence or two to the newspapers”.

Is might used in the past or present sense? I think the meaning of the sentence is that Smith’s case maybe attracted some attention in the newspapers but only briefly but I’m not sure of this interpretation. Can anybody help me, please?​

 

[GoesStation]

Is it clearer if you know that the "at" at the start of the second sentence is a typo? It should say "an".

 

[Tiziano]

Is it clearer if you know that the "at" at the start of the second sentence is a typo? It should say "an".

Thank you so much for your input. Yes, it’s a typo and it’s my fault because I didn’t revise the text as carefully as I should have. Anyway, I don’t think the sentence is any clearer, even with this correction.

 

[jutfrank]

Is might used in the past or present sense?

Neither, really. The sentence states a general possibility.

The author is talking about the general situation: Violence against prostitutes is normally ignored, but when the attack is particularly ferocious, people are sometimes interested. The use of might suggests that even when the attack is ferocious, the interest is not guaranteed—it's still only a possibility.

The case with Smith (which obviously happened in past time) is just an example of this possible interest.

 

[Tiziano]

Thank you for your illuminating reply. Now the meaning of "might" in the sentence is much clearer now. Have a nice day!

 

[Rover_KE]

Tiziano, there's no need to quote our replies back to us or to make a new post to thank us.

Just click Thank in the bottom-left-hand corner of any post you find helpful.