Genre
Historical Fiction
Setting and Context
It is set in Manhattan in the late 1930s and from a future perspective in 1966.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narration from Katey Kontent’s point of view.
Tone and Mood
Reminiscent, Guilty, Uncompromising, Complacent
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Katey Kontent but there are no clear antagonists as this role switches from character to character including Eve and Tinker.
Major Conflict
An older Katey recalls her time in Manhattan as a young woman trying to climb the social ladder among the elites. Together with her friends, they learn and unlearn while making major life decisions that change their lives for good.
Climax
The climax reaches after Tinker offers a marriage proposal to Eve but she refuses and moves away.
Foreshadowing
Initially, the love triangle between Katey, Eve, and Tinker foreshadows the tragic accident that forces Tinker to choose Eve over Katey.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The novel refers to Walker Evans’ photographs of subway users between the years 1938 to 1941. The protagonist comes across the exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art taking her back to those moments.
Imagery
“Powdered with snow, Washington Square looked as lovely as it could. The snow had dusted every tree and gate. The once tony brownstones that on summer days now lowered their gaze in misery were lost for the moment in sentimental memories. At No. 25, a curtain on the second floor was drawn back and the ghost of Edith Wharton looked out with shy envy. Sweet, insightful, unsexed, she watched the three of us pass wondering when the love that she had so artfully imagined would work up the courage to rap on her door.”
Paradox
“If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us...then there wouldn't be so much fuss about love in the first place.”
Parallelism
“One of the great advantages that the Midwestern girls had was that you couldn’t tell them apart. You can always tell a rich New York girl from a poor one. And you can tell a rich Boston girl from a poor one. After all, that’s what accents and manners are there for. But to the native New Yorker, the Midwestern girls all looked and sounded the same.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“I looked down at the soup and gave it my best Oliver Twist.”
Personification
“…everyone but the bass player whose teeth peeked out from under his mustache”
