The tone of “Her First Ball” is driven by Leila’s thoughts and emotions. While Leila is not the narrator, the third-person limited narration is filtered through her perspective. Leila thus sets the tone as excited, hopeful, and romantic at the beginning of the story. In this early quote, it is clear that Leila is bursting with excitement, as she romanticizes every detail, such as her cousin Laura’s “white fur” outfit and “dark” hair:
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.
This example illustrates Leila’s excitement prior to entering the ball. The narration emphasizes that “every single thing was so new and exciting” and that Leila will remember this night “for ever”: these descriptions set readers’ expectations for the ball, implying that it will be a grand, romantic event. Infused with Leila’s excitement, the tone is set with high hopes and enthusiasm.
This upbeat and excited tone is maintained throughout the story—until, that is, Leila dances with the old man, at which point the tone becomes heavy and discouraging, as Leila considers that this ball could be “only the beginning of her last ball.” As Leila’s perception of the dance begins to shift, she mentally withdraws from the ball, wishing she were at home and expressing her anger at the old man for spoiling her night: the tone in this section thus becomes disheartened and angry.
However, unlike the mood of “Her First Ball,” which remains depressing and heavy at the end of the story, the tone once again becomes cheerful, excited, and romantic as Leila dances with her next partner and completely forgets about the old man:
But in one minute, in one turn, her feet glided, glided. The lights, the azaleas, the dresses, the pink faces, the velvet chairs, all became one beautiful flying wheel. And when her next partner bumped her into the fat man and he said, ‘Pardon,’ she smiled at him more radiantly than ever. She didn't even recognize him again.
These final lines return to the same descriptions of the beautiful setting of the ball—“the lights, the azaleas, the dresses, the pink faces, the velvet chairs”—that Leila had remarked on earlier in the story. The world becomes a “flying wheel” of romanticized beauty yet again when Leila chooses to ignore the old man’s warnings. The tone once again becomes light, energetic, and romantic. Mansfield describes Leila as “radiant,” and the story ends with the same excited and joyous tone that it started with, but now with a contrasting mood that reveals the story’s deeper meaning.
