“Imagine inviting yourself to tea…it would be lovely to add a decent title: Miss Grace…
Fiona, the woman said…No I don’t want to be called Miss McAllister…she even tried to kiss Grace, that puff-puff kind of kissing that the white people do.” (26)
I found the juxtaposition between the women with their way of conversating and conventions within the story to be very intriguing. For instance, on one hand, Grace believes that to address people you should put either a Miss in front of the name or call them by their last name to be formal. On the other hand, Fiona insists on using first names. Additionally, there is the way that Fiona thinks it is alright to invite herself over to one’s house for tea or is fine with more intimate-like actions which Grace sees as intruding. The author notably portrays this difference in their ideologies and etiquette in two separate, but intriguing ways. With Grace the author conveys her thoughts while Fiona’s are what she says and her actions. I thought this way of comparing these two women were really interesting yet subtle.
It is very interesting how different Grace and Fiona are depicted and I believe that it is intended to be seen as a generalizable difference with colored people and the English, or Scottish. They have different values and mannerisms and can’t seem to fully understand one another which leads to certain misconceptions. As the reader, taking a more objective look at their interactions and viewing it from the lens of apartheid and the partition between the white and colored people, we are able to identify their individual conceptions which might be lost to the other character as we read through the story and we get a deeper appreciation of the “disgrace” felt by Grace where she not only feels guilt for stealing the scarf but for mischaracterizing Fiona.
I completely agree. Grace spends so much time overanalyzing their interactions and comparing herself to Fiona. It almost seems like Grace believes that Fiona is the “correct” version of Grace. Or at least in Grace’s mind, that’s the case.
I agree ! Grace seems to overthink a lot, and seems to believe formality is important. I believe she thinks that way due to having grown up in poverty, associates poverty with informality and casualness. It’s also possible she believes so because lots of white people characterize people of colour as uneducated, and she refuses to be seen as such. Seeing Fiona, a privileged, educated, wealthy white woman act so informal and casual- something she was most likely always scolded and insulted for- must’ve been extremely upsetting and hypocritical to her