“I am no worse off than the average person,”
Mr. Gilman says these words when he realizes that the strangers' eyes look kindlier than normal. He has been walking the whole day holding flowers that he is anticipating to present to his daughter in law to seek acceptance. When he gets to his office, he puts these flowers in a drug store. From there, he heads to the bus stop where he takes a bust home. He is still holding his pale flowers and everyone is calling him. When he looks around, the eyes of strangers are looking friendlier than ever and each person is seeking his attention. He looks like someone who has a mission and headed somewhere to present his gift of flowers. These flowers can be interpreted as metaphorical by the reader because they represent Mr. Gilman's determination to seek acceptance from his daughter in law.
“fresh, bright, springtime piece of fiction,”
The narrator is writing the novel for the first time and she is looking forward to its publishing. However, she is not confident because she feels that her age is not media smart. The narrator is a representation of women's perceptions regarding their age. When most women get to middle age, they feel that they are no longer smart enough to appear on media. However, she is hopeful that the peace of her fictional work will amaze many despite her older age. After some of her works appear in the Publishers Weekly, she receives positive reviews which give her more motivation to continue authoring more books.
“Probably young working girls.”
After the narrator publishes her first novel, she realizes that many people are buying her publications. However, she is not so sure about what age group is more interested in her writings. The sales are sparky and she thinks it is appropriate to inquire from Mr. Scribano if he has an idea on which people are buying her publications. Mr. Scribano does not know either on the specific age that is purchasing the narrator's publications in large numbers. However, he makes a tentative guess that there are high chances that the publications are largely bought by the young working girls because most of them are gnawed by solitude and self-doubt. The narrator does not take Mr. Scribano's words lightly because they are hurting. He implies that the people reading the narrator's publications are lonely and insecure.
