The Boarding House" actually has three points of view: the story begins with Mrs. Mooney, a tough woman who's had a hard life and struggled to build something with it. She has noticed that her daughter, Polly, is having an affair with Mr. Doran, one of the men who lives at her boarding house. She waited until she was sure the affair had been consummated, then confronted Polly about it. Although she and her daughter both avoided appearing to collude with each other, it's clear that Mrs. Mooney is satisfied that Mr. Doran is likely to marry Polly to avoid a scandal.