Here, Amory first visits the Lake Geneva estate, which will become a symbol of his family’s lineage and downward mobility later in the novel—though here it is intact and grand. In his reaction to his mother, Amory shows how highly he values the opinions of his male friends and how seriously those relationships are to him. By agreeing to send Amory to St. Regis, Beatrice is implicitly agreeing to let Amory become part of the American middle class, which is defined by its educational institutions. Eton, a historic elite boys’ prep school in England, represents the institutions of European upper-class consciousness; while Beatrice would have preferred Amory to become part of that social world, she recognizes that he belongs in the United States.