The Clerk Character Analysis

The clerkin the shoe department meets Mrs. Sommers shortly after she has bought and put on her new stockings. He is bewildered by the juxtaposition between the luxurious silk stockings and the rest of Mrs. Sommers’s shabby clothes. The clerk symbolizes a sort of puritanical judgment; although he is probably working class too, he is surprised to see a poor woman like Mrs. Sommers making seemingly imprudent and frivolous purchases. Mrs. Sommers, however, is not dissuaded by the clerk, and continues browsing in a demanding and fussy manner, explaining that she doesn’t mind paying extra for the perfect pair of boots. Mrs. Sommers enjoys the buying power afforded to her by the dollars in her purse and the authority that it gives her over the clerk.