The sun has risen, and everyone in the house is occupied with their own activities. Anna, the maid, finishes up her chores. Charlotte is out in the garden, planting some saplings and enjoying the feeling of 'belonging' to the earth. Her cousin Lawrence walks by; he nurses literary ambitions and tries to find poetry in his cousin by comparing her to the Roman goddess Diana, but in comparison, Charlotte looks plain and clumsy. He wishes his cousin would look lovelier and take care of her appearance, but his comments only make her rightfully angry. Charlotte's mother Celia spends some time sewing but eventually goes to cut some flowers for their table. Their gardener Jake had warned her not to do so, but he is not around, and she cannot help herself. Meanwhile, her young son John plays in the trees by himself instead of going to school. Caught up in childish fancy, John takes off his clothes, runs naked through the woods, and suddenly spots the maid Anna riding the cart to the city. At dinner, he looks at her strangely, but Anna does not comment. Charlotte and Lawrence talk about propriety and their childhoods, a conversation in which Lawrence is his usual pompous self and Charlotte has to bite back her anger. At night, John pretends to be asleep when Celia comes to check on him, but she is not fooled. They talk for a while about his day, and then Celia goes to check on Anna. The maid is busy cleaning up, and Celia makes a mental note to chastise Anna for being overly casual in her manners at the very next opportunity. When she leaves for the night, Lawrence catches sight of Anna hurrying to see her lover, Jim, and he is fascinated by the sight. Then his Aunt Celia comes in, and he reflects upon his inappropriate passion for her. He wonders if he should tell her that he does not want to be a poet but a painter. Life carries on as it always has.