Misae questions the nature of Lil’ Slugger’s intentions and his apparent belief that
he is doing good. She beckons Lil’ Slugger to sit down so that he can hear her story. She
explains that she was born with a weak constitution and is unable to bear children.
Instead, she said that she wanted to become a woman worthy of her husband. However,
as she devoted herself to him, she noticed that he was spending more and more time at
work. Misae reasoned that because of the work that he did, she should work hard as well
in the home since she was a “useless invalid” (“tatanai byōki no nin”)