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Mona
Mrs. Lardner is the mother of Mona’s friend Annie. She offers to write the Changs a recommendation letter to her country club, after Mona lets slip that her mother might want to join. Mrs. Lardner comes across as well-intentioned but ignorant. She is “honored and delighted” to write a reference letter for the Changs, but she shows no understanding of the country club’s racist history Her revelations about her own heritage—she confides in Mrs. Chang that her “natural father” was Jewish—are also tinged with prejudice, as she considers this fact “a secret,” presumably because it would interfere with her own reputation among the country club set. Mrs. Lardner reveals the contrast between appearances and reality in American society. Her words show a willingness to include the Changs in her American community, but her actions—asking Callie to cater hors d’oeuvres, failing to integrate the Changs into the crowd at Jeremy Brothers’s party—show a disregard for their actual well-being and sense of belonging.
Mrs. Lardner Quotes in In the American Society
The In the American Society quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lardner or refer to Mrs. Lardner . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
In the American Society
Quotes
Of course, my father tried to eat a cracker full of shallots, and burned himself in an attempt to help Mr. Lardner turn the coals of the barbecue; but on the whole, he seemed to be doing all right. Not nearly so well as my mother, though, who had accepted an entire cupful of Mrs. Lardner’s magic punch and indeed seemed to be under some spell. […] I watched my mother take off her shoes, laughing and laughing as a man with a beard regaled her with navy stories by the pool. Apparently he had been stationed in the Orient and remembered a few words of Chinese, which made my mother laugh still more.
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Mrs. Lardner Quotes in In the American Society
The In the American Society quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lardner or refer to Mrs. Lardner . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
In the American Society
Quotes
Of course, my father tried to eat a cracker full of shallots, and burned himself in an attempt to help Mr. Lardner turn the coals of the barbecue; but on the whole, he seemed to be doing all right. Not nearly so well as my mother, though, who had accepted an entire cupful of Mrs. Lardner’s magic punch and indeed seemed to be under some spell. […] I watched my mother take off her shoes, laughing and laughing as a man with a beard regaled her with navy stories by the pool. Apparently he had been stationed in the Orient and remembered a few words of Chinese, which made my mother laugh still more.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
