There is also symbolism in the story to suggest Maria’s disconnection from the real world. She works and lives in the laundry, which was set up to provide relief and housing to women who had incurred difficulty in their lives. People living in the laundry would have been closed off from the real world. Also Maria is unaware that while she is deciding which cake to buy in the shop, the woman behind the counter is being sarcastic. This also suggests a disconnection from the realities of the world. The idea or disconnection from the real world is also further explored near the end of the story when Mrs Donnelly tells Maria that she will enter a convent by the end of the year. Again Joyce may be suggesting that life in a convent (or in any religious order) may be an escape from the realities of the world.