first i must admit that, this short story was the easiest to understate in terms of language compared to other short stories we have read so far.(at least for me)  What has got my interest about the story was how Irene keep listening other people’s lives even when it makes her miserable. I think writer got a point there, we seem to be a lot more interested than we should be about other peoples lives and we are trying to prove that how our lifes are so superior than others. So it is why most people are interested to find about others life and their problems and make gossip. It’s just another way of egoism.