Scene 5 Summary

Sister Aloysius takes a phone call from the school groundskeeper, Mr. McGinn, and asks him to remove a tree branch, blown down by the wind, over which Sister Veronica fell earlier. As she hangs up Father Flynn arrives, carefully staying outside the door as they make small talk about the wind and about Sister Veronica. Father Flynn says he heard she tripped over a tree branch and asks whether her sight is all right. Sister Aloysius tells him Sister Veronica's sight is fine (which is a lie, given that she told Sister James in Scene 2 that it wasn't), and then makes a joke about how nuns often trip over their habits (see "Quotes", p. 26).

Sister James arrives, breathless and anxious to not be late. Sister Aloysius invites both her and Father Flynn in. Father Flynn sits behind Sister Aloysius' desk, an action she...