Previous
Burne Holiday
Isabelle Borgé is Amory’s first love. Isabelle is beautiful, sophisticated, and charming, and she has a reputation for being flirtatious and kissing men. Isabelle and Amory are mutually infatuated when they first meet, and they exchange letters during the spring of Amory’s sophomore year. Though Amory’s letters are passionate, he finds Isabelle’s lacking and “unsentimental.” When Amory visits Isabelle’s family in Long Island, they kiss for the first time and argue afterward. Amory realizes that he does not love Isabelle but instead is attracted by her “coldness.” Isabelle, meanwhile, accuses Amory of being self-centered, “conceited,” and excessively harsh. Throughout the rest of the novel, Amory compares the other women he loves to Isabelle, and he insists that Isabelle meant nothing to him “except what [he] read into her.” Amory’s treatment of Isabelle reveals his cruelty toward others and his obsession with chasing beauty.
Isabelle Borgé Quotes in This Side of Paradise
The This Side of Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Isabelle Borgé or refer to Isabelle Borgé. 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:
).
Book 1, Chapter 2: Spires and Gargoyles
Quotes
“He knows you’re—you’re considered beautiful and all that”—she paused—“and I guess he knows you’ve been kissed.”
At this Isabelle’s little fist had clinched suddenly under the fur robe. She was accustomed to be thus followed by her desperate past, and it never failed to rouse in her the same feeling of resentment; yet—in a strange town it was an advantageous reputation. She was a “Speed,” was she? Well—let them find out.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 3: The Egotist Considers
Quotes
He became aware that he had not an ounce of real affection for Isabelle, but her coldness piqued him. He wanted to kiss her, kiss her a lot, because then he knew he could leave in the morning and not care. On the contrary, if he didn’t kiss her, it would worry him… It would interfere vaguely with his idea of himself as a conqueror.
Related Characters:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 4: Narcissus Off Duty
Quotes
She was immemorial…. Amory wasn’t good enough for Clara, Clara of ripply golden hair, but then no man was. Her goodness was above the prosy morals of the husband-seeker, apart from the dull literature of female virtue.
Book 2, Chapter 3: Young Irony
Quotes
Eleanor was, say, the last time that evil crept close to Amory under the mask of beauty.
Get the entire This Side of Paradise LitChart as a printable PDF.
Isabelle Borgé Quotes in This Side of Paradise
The This Side of Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Isabelle Borgé or refer to Isabelle Borgé. 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:
).
Book 1, Chapter 2: Spires and Gargoyles
Quotes
“He knows you’re—you’re considered beautiful and all that”—she paused—“and I guess he knows you’ve been kissed.”
At this Isabelle’s little fist had clinched suddenly under the fur robe. She was accustomed to be thus followed by her desperate past, and it never failed to rouse in her the same feeling of resentment; yet—in a strange town it was an advantageous reputation. She was a “Speed,” was she? Well—let them find out.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 3: The Egotist Considers
Quotes
He became aware that he had not an ounce of real affection for Isabelle, but her coldness piqued him. He wanted to kiss her, kiss her a lot, because then he knew he could leave in the morning and not care. On the contrary, if he didn’t kiss her, it would worry him… It would interfere vaguely with his idea of himself as a conqueror.
Related Characters:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 4: Narcissus Off Duty
Quotes
She was immemorial…. Amory wasn’t good enough for Clara, Clara of ripply golden hair, but then no man was. Her goodness was above the prosy morals of the husband-seeker, apart from the dull literature of female virtue.
Book 2, Chapter 3: Young Irony
Quotes
Eleanor was, say, the last time that evil crept close to Amory under the mask of beauty.
