Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition (Initial Situation)
Family Matters
We meet Elizabeth, Annie, and John Bates (oh, and Elizabeth's father, though we don't get his name). It's the end of a regular old workday, and Elizabeth is waiting for her husband, Walter, to turn up. Her father (who drives an engine for the mine) drops by, and she chats with him for a bit outside and serves him tea. They talk about his apparent plans to remarry, which Elizabeth doesn't seem too keen on... Then, she continues prepping dinner and waits some more.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
Where's Walter?
They end up having dinner without Walter. Elizabeth is super annoyed, thinking that her husband is out boozing it up (this kind of behavior is pretty regular for him). The kids play a bit before bed. After Elizabeth puts them down, she goes out looking for him... even though she's pretty sure he's just at the pub. She can't find him, but a neighbor, Mr. Rigley, agrees to go look for him elsewhere while she waits at home.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
Everyone's Biggest Fear: A Visit from the Mother-in-Law (MIL)
Elizabeth's mother-in-law shows up saying that Mr. Rigley had sent her; apparently, Walter had had an accident. They sit and talk about Walter. As of that moment, the MIL (that's right—she doesn't get a name, either) believes that Walter is still alive. Then another man comes by and, sadly, announces that Walter is dead; apparently the roof caved in while he was still down in the mine and he asphyxiated. Some men were going to bring his body to the house soon.
Falling Action
Er, Actually, Death is Probably Scarier than a Mother-in-Law
Elizabeth prepares the parlor for Walter to lie there in state on the floor. Then three men (the doctor, the pit manager, and another collier) bring Walter's body in and lay him out. In the process, they accidentally knock over a vase of chrysanthemums in the parlor. The pit manager explains what happened and laments that Walter was left down there alone. While this is going on, Annie hears voices and shouts down to her mom to find out what was happening. Elizabeth goes in to get her back to sleep, reassuring her that her father had come home and wasn't drunk... both of which are true, we guess. While she's up there, the men leave.
Resolution (Denouement)
The Big Sleep
When Elizabeth comes back down from the kids, she and her mother-in-law strip Walter's body and wash it. They then clothe him again. Along the way, Elizabeth ponders her married life, which is now dunzo, and her future. Given that she's got two small kids and is pregnant with a third, and the sole breadwinner has just passed, it's no wonder she seems pretty overcome with fear.