In this short story, Mrs. Ansley is the only one of the women who knits. Knitting symbolizes her self-possession. Mrs. Ansley is a woman content with her life and able to produce good work. Watching Mrs. Ansley "absorbed in her [knitting] work", as if she hasn't a care in the world, triggers Mrs. Slade's habitual jealousy and hatred of her old friend. Mrs. Slade now focuses her jealously on the vibrant Barbara, Mrs. Ansley's daughter, who outshines her own daughter Jenny in every way. Mrs. Slade watches Mrs. Ansley's placid knitting and thinks:

What was there for her to worry about! She knew that Babs would almost certainly come back engaged to the extremely eligible Campolieri. "And she'll sell the New York house, and settle down near them in Rome, and never be in their way... she's much too tactful. But she'll have an excellent cook, and just the right people in for bridge and cocktails... and a perfectly peacefuI old age among her grandchildren."

Against Mrs. Slade's contented knitting, Mrs. Slade boils with rage and discontent. She can't stand to see Mrs. Ansley so self-possessed and seeing her knit placidly makes her determined to land a harsh emotional blow.

It appear as if nothing could perturb or ruffle the calm Mrs. Ansley, but through how it disturbs her knitting, we see the depth of the wound inflicted when Mrs. Slade tells her that she was the one who wrote the letter years ago, supposedly from Delphin, asking Mrs. Ansley to meet him at the Colosseum. This utterly breaks Mrs. Ansley's composure, represented figuratively when she drops her knitting:

While Mrs. Slade spoke Mrs. Ansley had risen unsteadily to her feet. Her bag, her knitting and gloves, slid in a panic-stricken heap to the ground. She looked at Mrs. Slade as though she were looking at a ghost.

From this point on, Mrs. Ansley's knitting will stop. Mrs. Slade has fully commanded her attention.

The Colosseum also plays a figurative role in the story. The women dine in view it and other ruins of ancient Rome. Mrs Slade looks at "immensity of the Colosseum." Not only is it physically immense, but it plays an oversized role in the drama of both their lives.

The Colosseum, through much of the story, represents to Mrs. Slade her (false) sense of victory over her rival. It has a long history as a place where gladiators fought to the death, and it is the place where Mrs. Slade thinks she bested her hated rival. As Mrs. Slade turns to look at it, it is not only the afternoon and evening light that hang in balance. Mrs. Slade's thoughts about what to reveal to her rival are also hanging in the balance:

Her gaze turned toward the Colosseum. Already its golden flank was drowned in purple shadow, and above it the sky curved crystal clear, without light or color. It was the moment when afternoon and evening hang balanced in midheaven.

Knitting and the Colosseum function on one level merely as devices to set the scene and add realism and texture to the story. On a figurative level, however, the knitting symbolizes Mrs. Ansley's composure, and the Colosseum the emotional battle between the two women.