Holden Caulfield Relationships

Women and men support one another and depend upon one another in their relationships with each other. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield struggles with the need for having a relationship with a woman. The women characters are good and bad for Holden’s mental state. J.D Salinger, the author of the novel, describes the struggle in connection to his own personal conflict with women throughout his own life. This leads Salinger to demonstrate that the mood of a man depends on a female through the use of Holden’s relationships with women.
The only girl in Holden’s life that he is secure around is his sister, Phoebe. While finally meeting with Phoebe, Holden experiences happiness: “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden,

the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy” (213). Holden is usually in a depressed, self-loathing, despondent spirit (D). But through his strong sibling bond with his sister Phoebe, he suddenly becomes blissful. Phoebe is his family, she will always be there for Holden which makes him feel safe and secure. Just from watching his sister and having her near him, Holden is happy and starts to recognize his emotions rather than pushing them away like he usually does.
Another girl that supports Holden is Jane. Although he has only spent a summer with Jane, Holden has a strong bond with her because of the experiences they have shared. Holden recalls her, “I know Jane Gallagher like a book—I still couldn’t get her off my brain…You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy.” (76-79) as a way of recalling how good he felt with her companionship. Jane left such an impression on Holden that he can recall the experience years later. The memory is nostalgic, it allows him to remember all the unique things that make Jane different from the other girls. Holden is not stressed or worried about his previous actions around Jane. Simple hand contact makes Holden feel relaxed and worry-free (L).
Even though Jane supports Holden, her opinions still matter greatly to him.

Since Holden has spent time away from Jane, he is very conscious about what Jane is feeling about him. After talking to Stradlater about his date with Jane, Holden is desperate to know the details, “how’d she happen to mention me? Does she go to B.M. now? She said she might go there. She said she might go to Shipley, too. I though she went to Shipley. How’d she happen to mention me? I was pretty excited” (31). Jane is important to Holden just from one little interaction years ago, he is very desperate to know what he means to Jane. His feelings depend on if Jane showed any sign of interest expressed towards Holden. This shows that Jane is extremely significant to Holden and that she made herself memorable from a bond they shared together years ago.
In contrast to a supportive girl like Jane, Sally is only important to Holden because of her beauty. Holden naturally would get upset, “she got away with it because she was so damn good-looking…She was around ten minutes late, as a matter of fact. I didn’t give a damn, though” (124). just because she was good looking he gave Sally a pass. Just from a woman’s looks, she can make up for everything else that she’s done wrong. The relationship he has with her is the potential for a physical relationship. Sally’s rude gesture does not matter to Holden, he did not have a personal relationship with Sally

(M).
Salinger wrote Catcher in the Rye to show women how they can make or break a male’s character all in one simple interaction. Salinger has many conflicts with women in his personal life, so he integrated all his emotions into the novel. This shows that a man’s feelings is heavily influenced by the type of interactions he gets from the companionship of a woman.