Summary
People tease Des-Neiges about her flirtation with a traveling salesman. Des-Neiges tells them to stop, but then reveals in a monologue that she has fallen in love with him. She describes her initial development of feelings and in the end expresses a fear of losing him and being alone once again.
Linda returns and begins to have an argument with Germaine. Linda says she just ran into her friends on her way out the door but Germaine is indignant that she did not stick around to help her paste the stamps, as she had said she would. The exchange gets increasingly heated and Rose intervenes, but then Germaine tells her that Linda said earlier that she didn't need to be polite on the phone because it was "only Aunt Rose" calling. Rose then says Linda deserves the scolding.
Everyone else tells them to quiet down, as they have grown tired of the bickering. Thérèse worries their fighting will wake her mother-in-law. Multiple people exchange heated words, ending with Lisette and Gabrielle nearly coming to blows. Olivine once again spills the water and it gets all over the tablecloth. This leads to more bickering and shouting between everyone. The scene briefly descends into chaos.
Germaine criticizes Linda again and Linda says she wants to go back to the restaurant. Gabrielle repeats her complaint about Lisette's snobbish behavior. Lisette delivers a soliloquy in which she says that she regrets coming to the party and opines about how much more refined the people are in Europe. She enumerates the things she finds distasteful about the other women, including their language and supposed cheapness.
Germaine continues to yell at Linda, who says she is leaving with her friends. A neighbor complains about all the noise, to which Rose responds by yelling at him. Linda leaves again and Germaine bursts into tears. Then Linda encounters Angéline and Rhéauna on the porch (offstage) and decides she might stay. The two women come in and are greeted warmly by the party. Linda steps out once again.
It is revealed that the two women have just been at a funeral for the son of an old classmate. They talk about mortality and the medical issues they've suffered with through the years. They describe how the man's death was extremely unexpected, as he simply came home one day and fell over into his soup. They go on to talk about how everyone looked at the funeral and how various people have been weathered by the effects of time.
An allusion is made to Germaine's other sister Pierrette, which spurs Germaine to share a soliloquy about her. Rose chimes in as well and they share the story of how she was once an academic star, but then fell in with people they perceived as the wrong crowd. They blame it all on her partner Johnny, whose name they say in unison. Linda returns with her friends Lise and Ginette. The act concludes with the unexpected arrival of Pierrette at the door. Pierrette says hello and recognizes Angéline.
Analysis
Loneliness is a major theme in this section of the play, as Des-Neiges details her fears of losing the connection she has discovered with the traveling salesman. While she is one of the few single women at the table, her concerns point more broadly to the loneliness many of the other women in the play feel. She is afraid of being entirely alone again, without anyone present in her life. This also suggests that there is an element of desperation in the relationship, as she feels that she absolutely needs the presence of a man in it.
Generational conflict reaches something of a boiling point in this part of the play as Linda clashes with her mother about going out. As introduced at the start of the story, Germaine feels that Linda shows no respect or concern for her, while Linda feels that her mother demonstrates no belief in her common sense and is constantly berating her for no reason. Linda storming out and returning gives a sense of the push-pull dynamic that she has with her mother, implying that this is not the first time this fight has occurred nor will it be the last. Their arguments point to the friction that often crops up between parents and their children in the play, with both sides feeling completely misunderstood.
In Lisette's harshly judgmental speech, she says she should not have attended this party and that she wishes she could be back in Europe or, at least, on a luxury liner. Not only is her class prejudice on full display in this moment, but her cultural values come out prominently as well. She claims that people in Europe are much more refined and that she hates the way people talk in this Quebecois social circle. This indicates a broader theme in the play about Quebecois culture, as Lisette shares the belief that cultural idioms should be erased for the "refined" sound of standard French. She comes off as somewhat ridiculous in this moment, as Rose has already said that she doesn't possess the wealth or status she pretends to but merely puts on airs to distance herself from the rest of the group.
Rhéauna's conversation with Angéline about the funeral deals with the idea of mortality. By describing the scene of her friend's death at the dinner table, she renders it in a very mundane and everyday manner. They find this all the more unsettling, as it suggests that anyone can pass on at any time without warning or fanfare. This idea is deeply upsetting to both of them, as they feel it means that their suffering may not have any meaning.
Pierrette arrives at the end of the first act, further amplifying many of these already heightened dramas. She represents the rejected social mores of her sister's circle of friends, as they all gossip about her apparent fall from grace. Her presence is also framed as dangerous, as everyone is taken aback by her entry into the room. This part of the play pulls focus to the conclusion, bringing all of these conflicts to the surface.
