Dance of the Happy Shades Characters

The unnamed narrator is a teenage girl from a middle-class family that lives in the suburbs of southern Ontario, Canada. She takes piano lessons from Miss Marsalles, the same music teacher who once taught… read analysis of The Narrator

Miss Marsalles is an elderly music teacher who gives piano lessons to children. Years ago, she taught the narrator’s mother to play piano. Now, she’s the young narrator’s music teacher. Miss Marsalles isn’t married… read analysis of Miss Marsalles

The narrator’s mother is a middle-class woman who took piano lessons from Miss Marsalles in her youth and now has her own daughter—the narrator—who takes lessons from Miss Marsalles, too. The narrator’s mother is… read analysis of The Narrator’s Mother

Mrs. Clegg, a middle-aged woman, is the Marsalles sisters’ neighbor. She attends Miss Marsalles’s party because she likes music and was invited to hear the children perform. In some ways, Mrs. Clegg presents a… read analysis of Mrs. Clegg

Miss Marsalles’s older sister is an elderly, unmarried, and childless woman. She’s a retired teacher who used to give private lessons in French and German. Recently, however, she suffered a stroke. Now she is… read analysis of Miss Marsalles’s Sister