The opening of this section reveals Mrs. Armstid's inability to act. The contrast between her and Mrs. Littlejohn is significant in that Mrs. Littlejohn has always been in complete control of her life and acts firmly and determinedly. Mrs. Armstid is inconsistent and indecisive, but we cannot severely fault her for this, given the abusive relationship she is in.
The meeting between the two women is comic only in how Ratliff reports it. Mrs. Littlejohn tells Mrs. Armstid that Flem Snopes is back in town, and that she can now ask him for the five dollars, to which Mrs. Armstid asks apprehensively, "You reckon he'll give it to me?" Although Mrs. Littlejohn does not believe that Flem will refund the money, she hopes that Mrs. Armstid's asking for it might shame him.
Throughout this conversation, Ratliff notes that Mrs. Littlejohn washes dishes "like a man, like they was made out of iron." The women's conversation is sprinkled with Ratliff's observations about the dish washing. As Mrs. Armstid whines about whether or not Flem will return her money, Ratliff records Mrs. Littlejohn's impatience by noting how she treats the dishes: "It sounded like she was throwing the dishes at one another," and "Then it sounded like Mrs. Littlejohn taken up all the dishes and throwed them at the cookstove." Finally, Mrs. Littlejohn loses all patience. She tells Mrs. Armstid that she would give the money to Henry to buy another horse-if only she could be sure that this time the horse would kill him.
The scene shifts to the front door of the country store, where Flem sits whittling. The image of him carving wood recalls that Mrs. Armstid has constantly been referred to as being made "outen wood." In this final scene, we will see her being whittled away metaphorically by Flem.
