The Teacher

The Teacher is the main character of the short story. The author does not give the Teacher a first or last name. By referring to her simply by her vocation, the author is formally enacting the ways in which the Teacher's job defines the entirety of her character, identity, and life. Indeed, over the course of the story, scenes from the Teacher's personal and home life gradually dissipate and eventually disappear from the page. In turn, scenes from her time at school and in the classroom increasingly begin to consume the narrative. In this way, the author is enacting the Teacher's inability to separate herself from her work.

The Teacher is particularly invested in her student Bea. Although Bea is often late, ill-prepared, and uninvested, the Teacher refuses to give up on her. In fact, she regards herself as the only educator who has "a way with...