The newspaper functions as a narrative trigger that introduces the event disrupting the initial situation and effectively sets the story in motion, while also anchoring the story to a precise historical moment. This grounding is reinforced through details of material authenticity: the front page lacks a headline, consistent with newspapers of that period, and it appears to be a replica of a real issue dated April 15, 1912 (the day the Titanic sank). The device also allows for an additional historically accurate touch, referenced explicitly in the dialogue: servants ironing newspapers for the aristocracy to prevent ink from staining their fingers.