The students serve as foils for Miss Meadows, standing in contrast to her and highlighting her anxieties about aging. The first description of Miss Meadows, for example, details how she walks with "cold, sharp despair—buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife," whereas the first description of the students shows them "rosy from the air, and bubbling over with that gleeful excitement that comes from running to school on a fine autumn morning." The girls see autumn as a time of happiness: because they are young, they get to return to school, interact with their friends, and enjoy the brisk weather.
Meanwhile, Miss Meadows sees the season as one of anguish: it reflects her own aging, coupled with the loss of joy and romantic prospects that aging brings. The students' names also serve as an important point of contrast. Mansfield gives the girls first names—Mary, Monica, and the briefly mentioned Muriel—to highlight their youth and personhood. Miss Meadows's title, meanwhile, defines her as an unmarried woman rather than a distinct individual. This difference similarly calls attention to Miss Meadows's fear of aging, as she has lost touch with her youth and the identity she once possessed. Thus, it is partially through the girls that readers understand Miss Meadows's initial despair.
Miss Wyatt acts as a foil for Miss Meadows by both comparing and contrasting with her. In doing so, she contextualizes Miss Meadows's predominate emotions and choices in the story.
Miss Wyatt is headmistress, but the fact that she still works at the school, has received such a promotion, and still goes by by "Miss" all suggest that she is an older woman who remains unmarried. This is the exact condition that Miss Meadows fears for herself. Mansfield also defines Miss Wyatt by her disgruntled attitude, highlighting her position as undesirable and despair-inducing. Miss Wyatt therefore presents a potential, woeful future for Miss Meadows, and it is partially through Miss Wyatt that readers understand why Miss Meadows is so desperate to marry.
