Nora Webster

When they have returned home, Nora watches television. The film Gaslight is being shown, which Nora remembers as being “one of the best films [she has] ever seen” (81). She speaks enthusiastically about the film, and when Donal and Conor take an interest, she reluctantly agrees to let them stay up past their normal bedtime to watch it. As the film progresses, she realizes that neither boy has seen a film like this before. The fraught, tense depiction of emotional abuse is alien to Conor and Donal, who have mostly only seen action films. Nora is captivated by the film as the boys huddle beside her, similarly engaged.

Nora is set to start at Gibney’s soon. Fiona and Aine return home, and Aine agrees to take extra Latin classes in the hope that she will obtain a grant to attend university. Margaret has offered to pay for these classes. Meanwhile, Donal takes pleasure in photographing his family, even though his camera is not fully functional. As the hours pass, Nora realizes that she is “not needed” (85). She explains to Fiona and Aine that she has arranged for Donal and Conor to look after themselves during the few hours between the end of the school day and her return from the office. Feeling as though her children are cross-examining her, Nora notes that “none of them [have] any sense of how precarious things [are]” (86). Even after selling the house in Cush, Nora is still worried about money. Now, Una tells a story about Francie Kavanagh, who supposedly angered a co-worker so much that the co-worker filled Francie’s coat pocket with dog feces.

Later, Aine tells Nora that Una has been dating someone from the local golf club. Nora, who is 46, once believed that her 40-year-old sister would never marry. However, the identity of Una’s partner is a mystery. Later, when Nora drives Fiona back to the rain station, she hints to her daughter that money will be tight. Quietly, Fiona abandons her plans to continue her studies in Dublin so that she can find a job in Wexford and help her mother. That night, Nora agrees to watch another film with Conor and Donal, but she worries about the film’s depiction of death.

The next day, Nora attends her first day of work and realizes that she is older than most of the other women in the office. Francie Kavanagh feigns surprise that Nora is starting that day and makes Nora wait for a long time, quietly asserting her authority. While waiting, Nora meets a young woman and realizes that this is Elizabeth Gibney, Peggy’s daughter, who works in the family business. Elizabeth is keen to contest the authority of “Francie-Pants Kavanagh” (94), so she invites Nora into the office and offers her a desk. At Elizabeth’s insistence, Francie returns and subjects Nora to a difficult bookkeeping test. Nora feels the pressure and struggles to perform the task. Eventually, however, she finishes the test and walks home with a familiar “feeling of pure freedom” (97).

Nora works in Elizabeth’s office. As she performs her administrative tasks, Elizabeth chatters on the telephone about her social life. The traveling salesmen at the firm are all paid different rates: a system designed by the Gibney’s to pay them as little as possible. Nora develops a shorthand to remember exactly how much each employee is paid. She soon realizes that Francie does not really understand the system, which is why everyone resents and dislikes her. Francie Kavanagh fights with everyone, though she and Elizabeth studiously ignore each other. Nora enjoys working alongside Elizabeth because she can focus on her work. She also learns about Elizabeth’s complicated social life, including her romantic relationship with a man from Dublin named Roger. Though Elizabeth likes Roger, she would also enjoy “a big romance” (101) if the opportunity presented itself. When Elizabeth meets a town clerk in the local golf club, she asks Nora to ask Una for more information about the man. Nora is intrigued by Elizabeth’s hints about Una’s social life; Elizabeth says that Una and her mysterious boyfriend are “a lovely couple” (104).