Act 1, Scene 6 Summary

In England in 1952, in Susan's apartment, Susan works at a drafting table on an advertising assignment while Alice applies paint to the nude body of a young woman, Louise. Susan complains that the work she's doing on an advertisement for shoes is hell, and asks rhetorically what she's doing with her life. Alice ironically comments that Susan has sold out, and then tells Louise to turn over so she can paint the other side. Susan says that all she has to do to create a good ad is to think stupidly, but believes she's not stupid enough.

As Susan rips up her work, Alice and Louise talk playfully about the way Alice is painting Louise to represent a tree, and about other guests at the party they will be attending. While they are talking, Mick appears. Susan reacts angrily, saying that...