The Singing Lesson

Miss Wyatt is the headmistress at the school where Miss Meadows teaches. She is likely an older woman, as she wears glasses and often has difficulty getting them untangled from the lace of her clothing. When Basil sends Miss Meadows a telegram at work to renew their engagement, Miss Meadows goes to Miss Wyatt to collect the telegram. Mansfield describes Miss Wyatt as being very kind with Miss Meadows at first, seeming to expect that the telegram will contain bad news. Once she discovers that the telegram contains good news, Miss Wyatt is annoyed and tells Miss Meadows that she can only receive telegrams at work in an emergency. Mansfield subtly suggests that Miss Wyatt might have relished Miss Meadows receiving bad news, and her reprimand of Miss Meadows might come from a place of bitterness, since Miss Meadows emphasized the note was from her fiancé. In this era, it was rare for women to keep a teaching job after marriage, so the fact that Miss Wyatt has been promoted to headmistress of the school and still goes by “Miss” suggests that she is likely older than Miss Meadows, and still unmarried, the very condition that Miss Meadows fears. As Mary Beazley echoes a younger version of Miss Meadows, Miss Wyatt appears to show a possible future for Miss Meadows if she stays in her job and does not marry. Miss Wyatt may have a higher-ranking job within the school, but she is a bitter person that is only shown taking joy in the possibility of other people’s pain.