Mrs. Bentley has just moved to another small town and has befriended a woman who she feels she will come to like. She proclaims, "I think I'm going to like Judith" (Ross 16). What the reader discovers is the irony of the fact that Mrs. Bentley's act of befriending Judith leads to Philip's act of committing adultery with Judith. The events that unfold to reveal this ironic twist will be analyzed.

The friendship between Judith and Mrs. Bentley grew as Mrs. Bentley invited Judith back to their house after the mass. This happened despite the fact Mrs. Bentley appears to have caught her husband, through the mirror, steering at Judith while she sang. In mass, while Philip was listening to the music, Mrs. Bentley recalls, "it's seldom he listens to music" (Ross 51). Mrs. Bentley invited Judith to their home because she felt bad about the way it appeared the...