Mother, the main character in the short story "Happiness,"" whose life is seemingly dedicated towards finding the joy in things, hides her true feelings of depression and apprehension behind a mask of happiness and joy. "Like the days of her life, those four hours that Mother lived were packed tight with concern and anxiety (47)-. This quote underlines the exact point that Mother, no matter how much she might try to disguise her true colors when looking into the face of death, can't deny reality. As soon as Mother comes to, she "scrabbled her fingers- on the counterpane as if she were fixing papers on her desk. She was constantly trying to distract herself with odd jobs and shuffling papers, so that she didn't have to think about how unhappy she was. Even when barely conscious, Mother strives to keep up her elaborate fazade. .
Father Hugh tries desperately to calm Mother. Father Hugh, who ultimately is concerned about happiness in afterlife rather than the present, wants to alert Mother of what's going on in her life. He feels it will bring her to genuine happiness, and his love for her is shown by his desire to make her happy. "Bea pushes between them (47),"" is a signal of Bea's resentment towards Father Hugh. She scolds him for attempting to tell Mother what is going on and wants to deal with her mother herself. Father Hugh, who seems to play the figure of authority in the household, and Bea, who doesn't appreciate the self appointed role of father that he has taken, pushes him away. .
The diction used in the next paragraph solidifies Mother's helpless state. "Mother's hands fell idle on the coverlet, palms upward and empty (48)-, illustrates the emptiness Mother is feeling now that her "mask- has been removed. The empty and upward palms are a metaphor for Mother's life without fulfillment, and it has come to the point where she cannot continue with life any longer. Her body and her soul are giving up, as if she were throwing up her arms in defeat.