Chapter 3 Summary

The next morning, as Edith drinks her coffee, she reflects on the preceding night and remarks that at least one thing has been accomplished: people are beginning to have names. She ponders her meeting with the Puseys and, although she had conversed with both Mrs. Pusey and her daughter, Edith thinks that Iris Pusey "held the stage," as she describes it. Mrs. Pusey controlled the conversation and seemed able to function only when in a dominant position.

Edith had learned that the Puseys stay at the hotel briefly each year for the sole purpose of shopping. Edith believes that they reached an informal, unspoken agreement during their conversation: Edith will spend her free time with the Puseys when she is not busy doing something else; if she is busy, her activities will be carefully evaluated. Edith does not object to this arrangement in...