Act I, Scene 1 through Act I, Scene 2 Summary

In the first scene, Wendla is just turning fourteen, and Wendla's mother is sewing her a new dress. Wendla complains that the dress is too long and looks like a sack. She begs to wear her old, shorter dress for one more summer. Although Mrs. Bergmann is concerned that the dress is too short for Wendla, she finally gives in to her daughter. Wendla is a well-developed girl, and her mother wonders what she'll be like in a few years. Wendla wonders if she'll still be around then, and her mother asks how Wendla can think such things. Wendla says that they just come to her at night.

In the second scene, Melchior, his friend Moritz, and a group of boys from their school are playing outside. The boys complain about...