Ashes Of Roses

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains graphic descriptions of multiple violent deaths due to fire and falling.

On Saturday, Rose puts on her “ashes of roses” dress, the nicest dress she has, because she plans to go to the nickelodeon with Klein, Bellini, and Maureen after work. Gussie, who never used to work on Saturdays, also goes to the factory to make up for her pay cut. Gussie also suggests that they go to Coney Island in the summer to have fun, which surprises Rose. She arranges for Maureen to meet her at the ninth-floor dressing room after work. At the end of the day, a woman hands out envelopes with the workers’ pay. It takes Rose a long time to exit because the tables run all the way to the walls and the workers have to open their bags for inspection before leaving, thus clogging the only exit.

As Rose waits for her turn, she hears a scream and see flames outside the window. The workers panic, pushing violently and screaming. Rose hides under a table with a girl who fell and realizes that the girl has been trampled to death. Gussie pulls her out and slaps her back to action, hauling her toward the exit, but when Gussie sees an old woman up on a table, afraid to move, she goes back to help her, telling Rose to keep going.