Characters

The main character

The main character in the short story “The Sweet Business” by Mary Griese is an unnamed young woman from Wales. She is married with children. Her husband is English, and her in-laws visit frequently to help with the renovations on the old house they have recently bought in the Welsh mountains. The main character finds this tiring, as she does not see eye to eye with her in-laws and their English ways. However, she puts up with it, trying to be polite.

She loves adventure and dislikes routines

The main character is an adventurous person. She is excited about the old farmhouse which she discovered. She is the one who proposes the trip to the waterfall, and she is exhilarated by the slight danger: “You’re the last to tiptoe carefully over the slippery stone (…) What an experience, you all look at each other in astonishment and make faces, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, smiling, gasping.” 

She is also very...