In the short story "Mirriam", Truman Capote does an execellant job portraying Mrs. H.T. Miller's character by showing us the many changes she goes through in her personality, style of apartment, and how she acts under stress. He also foreshadows up coming events by the type of weather that takes place at a certain time.
             When the story opens it portrays Mrs. Miller as a plain, prim, and self-suificent person. From her "matter-of-fact" clothes, to her "iron gray" hair that is clipped back and causally waved, she is a picture perfect model of a sixty-one year old woman. When Mrs. Miller decides to go out to the movies it says that she puts on her "beaver skin coat and golashes". This represents on how she tries to hide and protect herself from the outside world. This all changes when she meets Mirriam. When she makes her first appearance at Mrs. Miller's home she causes a ruccous by upsetting the canary and taking a brooch that poor Mrs. Miller's neat hair has slipped lopsided from the hair net and loose strands straggled down her face. Her pale cheeks have now been "molted in red patches, as though a fierce slap had left permanent marks". By the third appearance Mrs. Miller had began to cry very violently and ugly red lines had formed on her face.
             Capote also felt that the telling of her apartment and how it turned from "museum quality" to complete shambles. When Mrs. Miller lived alone her home was regarded as pleasant and emacualant. She took very good care of her two rooms and kichtenette. But, when Mirriam first came to visit Mrs. Miller was so disturbed that she tapped the ashes from her cigerette on the rug. When Mirriam didn't get her kiss good-night she took one of Mrs. Miller's glass vases and smashed it on the hard floor and trappeled on the flowers creating quite a mess. In the end Mrs. Miller finally realized how empty her house ...