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Meg is Leila’s older cousin, who brings her to the ball. Having been to many balls before, Meg isn’t nearly as excited about the ball as Leila is. Once they arrive at the drill hall, Meg gets Leila settled with a dance card and encourages the other girls to help her find dance partners. While Meg clearly cares about Leila and does try to help her find her way, her priority is finding partners for herself and spending time with men, not hanging out with her little cousin.
Meg Sheridan Quotes in Her First Ball
The Her First Ball quotes below are all either spoken by Meg Sheridan or refer to Meg Sheridan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Her First Ball Quotes
Oh dear, how hard it was to be indifferent like the others! She tried not to smile too much; she tried not to care. But every single thing was so new and exciting…Meg’s tuberoses, Jose’s long loop of amber, Laura’s little dark head, pushing above her white fur like a flower through snow. She would remember for ever.
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Leila is on her way to her first ball with her cousins Meg, Jose, Laura, and Laurie Sheridan, and she finds everything about the experience—even the carriage ride there—entrancing. Leila’s excitement about the ball is apparent in her descriptions of what’s going on around her. For instance, she likens Laura’s head atop her fur coat to a flower pushing through the snow, which is a gorgeous and striking image to associate with the simple act of wearing a coat. Leila romanticizes small details like this because attending the ball is an important milestone for her. She is a young woman Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi ullam nobis. Ducimus odio quo. Ut autem
Strange faces smiled at Leila—sweetly, vaguely. Strange voices answered, ‘Of course, my dear.’ But Leila felt the girls didn’t really see her. They were looking towards the men. Why didn’t the men begin? What were they waiting for? There they stood, smoothing their gloves, patting their glossy hair and smiling among themselves.
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In the drill hall before the ball begins, the female attendees all cluster together, and Meg asks them to help find Leila dance partners. The women’s collective reaction helps clarify the gender dynamic of this society: men are socially important, while women are negligible. This is obvious in the way that the women treat Leila. They’re superficially kind to her, but they’re so focused on the men at the ball that they don’t “really see” Leila, even though she’s standing next to them. Instead, they smile “vaguely” and treat helping her as a distraction from the main event: finding a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut volupt
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Meg Sheridan Character Timeline in Her First Ball
The timeline below shows where the character Meg Sheridan appears in Her First Ball. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Her First Ball
...she could keep it as a memento. As Laurie and Laura plan their dances and Meg compliments Jose’s hair, Leila is almost moved to tears; she is an only child, so...
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The girls receive dance programs, which tell them when specific dances will take place. Meg then ushers Leila to the drill hall. Surrounded by noise and colorful decorations, Leila presses...
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...opposite side of the room while the chaperones, “smiling rather foolishly,” head towards the stage. Meg asks the other girls to help Leila find partners, and though they agree, they seem...
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...begins and a new partner finds her. Leila decides to dance until she can find Meg and escape, but she is soon swept up in the music and the beautiful decorations,...
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