Act 3, Scene 1 Summary

This scene is set again in the main room of the farmhouse. The atmosphere is even bleaker than before; curtains are torn, everything is dirty, and the atmosphere is one of, "habitual poverty."

Ruth sits by the stove, stretching out her hands towards the warmth. She wears black, as if she's in mourning and seems to be completely defeated by life. Mrs. Atkins, still in her wheelchair, sits closer to the stove, asleep.

Robert comes out of the bedroom and he is thin and unhealthy-looking. Ruth tells him to come closer to the fire where it's warm. Robert refuses, saying he's warm enough. Ruth says that's because of, "the fever," and tells him the doctor's instructions were that Robert shouldn't get out of bed. Robert calls the doctor an, "old fool of a country quack," and that he's, "always helped us...