Structure
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Beginning
The short story begins in medias res, in the middle of events, with a backstory on the protagonist and another character: “Best not to ask how old she was. Her letter had said eighteen, but she could be anywhere between twenty and thirty. Her reference had sounded all right, so Jane thought she would give her a try” (ll. 1-3).
The introduction continues with a physical description of the unknown character, which also suggests that she is from the North of England. This creates a backstory on Greta. The backstory is further developed as we learn that Jane wrote to Greta after init…
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Middle
The rising action begins with Jane giving Greta money to take the children out. She also asks Greta not to come back for lunch (ll. 54-56).
The narrator, voicing Jane’s thoughts, remarks how Jane can work faster when the house is empty: “Funny how she could get twice as much done when the house was empty. At this rate the deadline would be easy” (ll. 59-60). This is another foreshadowing element for Jane’s decision to let Greta stay on as an au pair because Greta’s presence helps Jane.
Greta and the children return home at six, and Ben tells his mother where they have been. This helps establish the physical setting: “ ‘We went on the Circle Line, round and round, and played counting the stations. We passed Notting Hill Gate…’ ” (ll. 64-65).
Greta asks Jane to let …
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Ending
In the falling action, Jane is still angry but does not make her way back to Greta and the children. She decides to think about the situation while having a coffee somewhere. Here, the backstory on her relationship with Tim is further developed, as we learn she did something similar after marrying him: “as during her panic the day after marrying Tim, she told herself it would be better to have a cup of coffee somewhere and think about it calmly.” (ll. 147-149)
After walking some more around town, Jane returns home and begins to think about what she will tell Greta. The narrator suggests that she is still angry: “Words shied from being corralled into sentences. Luckily she was close to the…
