… and I can’t understand how they keep alive in those poky little holes… – Who said this and to whom? In what context was it said? What side of the speaker’s character gets highlighted here?

Mrs Sheridan said this to Laura.

Mrs Sheridan remained unaffected by Mr Scott’s death news and dismissed Laura’s request to cancel their garden party out of respect for the mouming family. She tried to reason with Laura by saying that Laura had come to know about this tragic news by accident. If someone in the working class neighbourhood had died a normal death, the Sheridans wouldn’t have known about it and they would have continued with their party.

Mrs Sheridan is portrayed as the true representative of the elite class who looks down upon the working class people. Aware of her social superiority, she considers herself distinct from them. That is why she inconsiderately called the cottages of the working class people poky little holes’ where it is difficult even to survive. This indifference underscores her lack of sympathy towards the hardships of the poor.