Petrified Man

“Hidden in this den of curling fluid and henna packs, separated by a lavender swing-door from the other customers, who were being gratified in other booths, she could give her curiosity its freedom.” 

The third-person narrator describes the salon as a “den,” suggesting a sense of safety and comfort in the beauticians’ and their clients’ gossip. In this intimate space, the women can ask and speak more freely than they can in public.

“[Y]ou know what I heard in here yestiddy, one of Thelma’s ladies was settin’ over yonder in Thelma’s booth gittin’ a machineless, and I don’t mean to insist or insinuate or anything, Mrs. Fletcher, but Thelma’s lady just happ’med to throw out—I forgotten what she was talkin’ about at the time—that you was p-r-e-g., and lots of times that’ll make your hair do awful funny, fall out and God knows what all.” 

Welty uses this exchange to emphasize Leota’s dialect, an indirect but strong characterization of her southern identity. In this moment, Leota introduces the story’s first conflict, that someone is gossiping about Mrs. Fletcher being pregnant. Leota delivers this news with a polite casualness, and only later does she admit that this entire story was a lie.

“‘All I know is, whoever it is’ll be sorry some day. Why, I just barely knew it myself!’ cried Mrs. Fletcher. ‘Just let her wait!’”

Mrs. Fletcher’s intense emotional response to the rumor about her pregnancy shows just how hypocritical the women’s gossiping nature is. When the gossip becomes personal, it is suddenly an unacceptable invasion of privacy and warrants revenge.