Social Manipulation and Patronage
The narrative revolves around Medora Phillips and Basil Randolph maneuvering to control and possess Bertram Cope through invitations, gifts, and influence, treating him as a social trophy to be displayed and managed.
Where it surfaces
I: Cope at a College Tea
Mrs. Phillips exerts control over Cope by sending him on errands and treating him as a subordinate, while Randolph observes with a desire to extend a 'friendly hand' that might shape young men's futures.
II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call
Mrs. Phillips orchestrates Cope's visit as part of her social machine, using entertainment as a means of control and assessment.
III: Cope Is "Entertained"
Mrs. Phillips orchestrates the event, subtly controlling the interactions and expectations, and later manipulates Cope's feelings of obligation.
IV: Cope Is Considered
Randolph uses indirect inquiries and patronage to learn about Cope, reflecting his desire to control social interactions.
VI: Cope Dines—and Tells About It
Cope strategically cultivates influential people like Mrs. Phillips and Randolph, aware of social caste and the benefits of patronage.
VII: Cope Under Scrutiny
Randolph's careful probing of Cope's background and his strategic invitations reflect a patronizing interest and subtle manipulation.
Unrequited and Ambiguous Desire
Multiple characters, including Amy, Hortense, Carolyn, and Randolph, project romantic or possessive feelings onto Cope, while Cope himself shows stronger emotional attachment to his male friend Arthur Lemoyne, creating a web of unreciprocated and subtly homoerotic tensions.
Where it surfaces
III: Cope Is "Entertained"
Cope's mental letter to Arthur reveals his longing for Arthur's company, contrasting with the forced socializing with the young women.
VI: Cope Dines—and Tells About It
Cope's letter to Lemoyne is filled with longing and intimate details, suggesting a deep emotional bond and unspoken desire.
VII: Cope Under Scrutiny
Cope's intense longing for Lemoyne's presence and Randolph's lingering physical contact with Cope suggest unspoken emotional and romantic tensions.
IX: Cope on the Edge of Things
Cope's anxiety about being 'caught' by women hints at ambiguous feelings.
Cope Amidst Cross-Purposes
Both Cope and Randolph harbor unspoken desires for future domestic arrangements with another man—Cope with Lemoyne, Randolph with Cope—creating a triangle of unexpressed longing.
XVII: Cope Among Crosscurrents
Amy's romanticized view of the rescue contrasts with Cope's disinterest and discomfort, while Randolph probes Cope's feelings about marriage.
Youth vs. Middle Age
The book contrasts the vitality, idealism, and self-absorption of youth (Cope and his peers) with the nostalgia, envy, and controlling impulses of the middle-aged characters who seek to recapture their own youth through the young.
Where it surfaces
I: Cope at a College Tea
The chapter contrasts Cope's youthful resentment at being called a 'boy' with Randolph's wistful envy of youth, highlighting the tension between generations.
II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call
Cope's youthful, slightly irreverent tone contrasts with Mrs. Phillips's established position and her expectations of deference.
IV: Cope Is Considered
Randolph contrasts his own settled life with the transient, indifferent nature of students and young instructors like Cope.
V: Cope Is Considered Further
The chapter contrasts Foster's and Randolph's aging, isolated perspectives with Cope's youthful vitality and the noise of the young women.
VII: Cope Under Scrutiny
The contrast between Cope's youth and Randolph's age (about fifty) is explicitly noted, highlighting the generational dynamic in their relationship.
Cope Undertakes an Excursion
Randolph reflects on Cope's youthful energy and his own past, highlighting the contrast between their ages and social styles.
Performance and Artifice
Theatricality pervades the novel, from Lemoyne's cross-dressing stage performance to the characters' social performances—posing as artists, poets, or lovers—highlighting the gap between authentic self and social facade.
Where it surfaces
I: Cope at a College Tea
Cope consciously adopts a smiling, affable demeanor as a 'calculated expressiveness' to navigate social expectations, masking his true irritation.
II: Cope Makes a Sunday Afternoon Call
The conversation between Cope and Mrs. Phillips is a performative sparring match, with both adopting roles and testing each other.
III: Cope Is "Entertained"
The entire afternoon is a staged entertainment where the young women perform their arts (violin, painting, poetry) and Cope is expected to perform in return by singing.
IV: Cope Is Considered
Cope's singing is described as 'cool and correct, but pleasant,' suggesting a performative aspect to his social interactions.
V: Cope Is Considered Further
Cope's singing is described as a cool, correct performance, and Foster's commentary highlights the artifice in social interactions.
VI: Cope Dines—and Tells About It
Cope hires a dress suit, recites poetry, and dances to perform his social role; the evening is a series of staged entertainments.
Gender Roles and Sexuality
The text explores rigid gender expectations through the 'entertaining' young women and the scandalized reaction to Lemoyne's feminine portrayal, while Cope's intense bond with Lemoyne suggests a coded exploration of same-sex attraction in early 20th-century America.
Where it surfaces
XXVII: Cope Escapes a Snare
Hortense's emotional outburst and Cope's rejection challenge traditional gender expectations; Hortense's critique of Cope's friendship with Lemoyne hints at societal attitudes toward male intimacy.
XXXI: Cope Gets New Light on His Chum
Lemoyne's feminine portrayal and offstage advances challenge conventional masculinity, provoking violent rejection and institutional censure.
Class and Provincialism
Cope's modest background as an instructor from Wisconsin is contrasted with the wealth and cultural pretensions of Churchton's elite, who view him as both an exotic novelty and a subordinate to be patronized.
Where it surfaces
V: Cope Is Considered Further
The discussion of how young people treat their elders, and the condescending pity or practical use they have for them, reflects class and generational hierarchies.
X: Cope at His House Party
The young businessman's condescension toward Cope's academic life reflects class tensions, while Mrs. Phillips' social maneuvering highlights provincial social hierarchies.
XIII: Cope Dines Again—and Stays After
The dinner contrasts Churchton's provincial standards with the 'liberal' aspirations of Mrs. Phillips' entertaining.
Cope Makes an Evasion
Randolph's investigation of Cope's family through the Freeford directory reflects class-based curiosity and provincial social structures.
The Artist and Muse Dynamic
Cope becomes the object of artistic creation—painted by Hortense, written about by Carolyn, and sung about by Amy—reducing him to a passive muse rather than an active participant in his own life.
Where it surfaces
Cope Amidst Cross-Purposes
Cope's enthusiasm for writing about 'new men' and his desire to break from established literary conventions reflects a tension between critical tradition and creative innovation.
Escape and Confinement
Characters seek escape from social obligations, romantic entanglements, or provincial life (Cope's longing for Winnebago, the trips to the dunes), yet remain confined by the expectations and gossip of the small college town.
Where it surfaces
IX: Cope on the Edge of Things
The remote beach offers temporary escape from social pressures.
X: Cope at His House Party
The dunes offer an escape from urban life, but the visible prison chimney and the harsh winter realities described by Amy underscore the limits of that escape.
XI: Cope Enlivens the Country
The crowded trolley ride home contrasts with the idyllic freedom of the dunes.
Cope Amidst Cross-Purposes
Cope feels confined by his current quarters and academic constraints; both he and Randolph imagine new living situations as a form of escape.
XV: Cope Entertains Several Ladies
Cope feels confined by his illness and lodgings, looking forward to a 'new dispensation' and Lemoyne's arrival.
XVI: Cope Goes A-Sailing
The sailing outing represents a brief escape from routine, but the capsizing and subsequent rescue underscore the confinement of social scrutiny and physical danger.
