Summary

In “The Hopeful Loaf,” Nella waits outside Johannes’s warehouse for a meeting with the bakers Hanna and Arnoud. While waiting, she considers her conversation with Marin about the role of a wife, and her own preconceived notions of what it means to be a woman. The bakers arrive and are surprised to find Nella representing the sugar sale. Nella leads them to the sugar, and negotiates with them to buy a portion of the loaves. In the end, they buy a sample of the loaves and say they will buy more if they are able to sell them in a timely manner. With the 1500 guilders of profit, Nella plans to deliver 1,000 guilders to the Meermans as both repayment and potentially a stopper to their accusation of Johannes. The other 500 will be used...