Act 1, Scene 5 Summary

Serafina feels validated by Rosa's comments and stares at herself with revulsion in the mirror. She grabs a girdle and holds it up for inspection; drops it and tries on a hat but takes it off; she is frantic for something to make her feel attractive. She grabs a dress off one of her dressmaker dummies but it will not fit over her hips. She can hear the high school band begin to play in the distance and she becomes even more flustered because she cannot find anything to wear and she knows she will be late for the ceremony.

Her anguish is about to be exaggerated with the arrival of two female clowns, Flora and Bessie. They are middle-aged but have very juvenile demeanors. They have come for a polka dot blouse that Serafina was supposed to have finished by...