2. What does the director announce to the staff just as Supervisor Tsukada is telling them how drunk the Woman in the Purple Skirt got two nights earlier?

3. What do the staff say to the Woman in the Purple Skirt the day she leaves work and never returns?

4. What does the Woman in the Purple Skirt wear to work, which is against the rules?

5. What does the bus driver do after the Woman in the Purple Skirt announces her accusation?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator go to work on her day off on the Woman's third day of work? Why does she return home?

2. What do the staff say the morning the Woman in the Purple Skirt is late for work? What does Supervisor Tsukada tell them they had done with the Woman a couple nights before?

3. What does the director discuss at the second monthly meeting the Woman attends? What does he task supervisors with and how do they feel about this?

4. What do the Woman and director do at the bus stop after the bar? What does the director learn he lost? What happened to this item?

5. What does the Woman discover when she sniffs the other staff members' water bottles? Does she check the narrator's? Why or why not?

6. What rumor does the narrator overhear about the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

7. How does the staff behavior toward the Woman change after they find out about her affair with the director? How does the Woman respond?

8. What happens when Supervisor Tsukada confronts the Woman in the Purple Skirt about the stolen hotel items?

9. What happens when the staff learn someone is selling hotel items at the local bazaar? Who do they think is behind it?

10. Where do the director and the Woman go on their date after the coffee shop? Which place do they stay the longest?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a brief essay analyzing the title, The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Explore the ways in which this title connects to the plot and themes of obsession and loneliness.