 Mrs. Thornley works very hard without notice or appreciation. Every day she keeps her own house clean, attends to her husband and unmarried daughter, Ann, then cleans other women s houses. She looks tired and has little affect. She does have a married son and a daughter-in-law who s chatty and pleasant. Mrs. Thornley s husband works nights, except for Saturdays, when he expects conjugal attention. Ann s worried about pregnancy and talks to her mum about labor and childbirth. Later, Mrs. Thornley goes to confession at her parish church, and she makes an extraordinary revelation.