Chapter 5 The Ball Summary

Iris and Ruth ride in a carriage together to the ball. They observe the emptiness of the village. Iris does not believe she will attract any attention and observes Ruth. Ruth is strong and passionate while Iris is still unable to be confident in her intelligence and fears that she is ugly. She details her appearance from her hair and contemplative expression to her lavender dress. She seems to glow with excitement as she is about to attend her first ball. She thinks of how she would paint herself and wonders if all painters try to capture something that is changing. The sisters arrive at the impressive Pruyn home where the ball is to be held. Iris tells the driver he knows what to do, and he rolls his eyes at her before returning to their home a third...