But she only caused him to become more and more jealous and left herself feeling "helpless about having (her) hands tied.He takes his forceps and jerks a tooth from the mouth of a Chinaman patient.With great pain and longing on her face, Mrs.McTeague approaches and gazes thoughtfully at her son who is in the crowd - she ambitiously imagines her son bettering himself and in the same position as the dentist administering a glass of water to the Chinaman and being paid.As they talk, Neff introduces himself, and discusses the lapsed auto insurance policy and his insurance work:Phyllis: I hope I""ve got my face on straight.It was put over on the American people while our boys were over there and all our girls were over here.