Appearances.
A young Jewish girl is forced to try on dresses at the tailor's shop where her father works. This may seem blase but, this is not just any young girl. She's flat chested and not very tall and dresses, the ones her mother picks out, don't fit her right. There's a scene toward the end of the story where the girl is standing in awkward heels with socks stuffed into the bodice of the dress and with the dress pinned to her slip in order to attempt a proper fit.
Still, it's no good. The reader sees, through this image, that this girl won't ever quite fit, not only in her world where curves and stature equal status and allure, but she won't ever quite fit into the vision of the future her mother and father have for her. She can only hide inside these too-big clothes for so long.
This was a feminist story through and through and I have a feeling a second read would reveal even more.
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