Chapter 5, Back Stage (c. 8) Summary and Analysis

Zora's life reaches a dramatic turning point during this chapter. After having spent some time with her brother and his wife, she finds work with a new crowd. These people are thespians. She becomes servant to an older white woman - her new boss is actually also quite young, but adult rather than adolescent. The pay is a drastic improvement at $10 per week plus room and board. Zora is elated, as is the other woman. This is a Gilbert & Sullivan operatic troupe. Zora writes about how she is teased extensively, but without malice as part of the process of her becoming accepted into the group. She repeatedly assures readers that she was able to tell that the others were not being malicious and passing it off as if they were only joking, but really were...