Rosalind Connage Essay

Soon after returning home from the war Amory is introduced to Rosalind Connage: a woman of ivory roots, he quickly falls madly in love with her, she also is head over heals for the “theoretical genius”(179), everything about Amory encaptures her, except one minor detail. Money. Amory grows up wealthy, but after the death of both of his parents his inheritance is almost nothing. Rosalind has always lived a life of extravagance, unfortunately for Amory she has no desire to risk her lifestyle, not even for love. She goes on to say “The very qualities I love you for are the ones that will always make you a failure”(181). Rosalind enjoys the remarkable traits that Amory possesses, but they all fall second tier to the the only one that matters, Money.

What is interesting about their situation is that Amory comes from old-money, yet to Rosalind and her mother that is insignificant, her mom says “Oh, I won’t interfere. You’ve already wasted over two months on a theoretical genius who hasn’t a penny to his name, but go ahead, waste your life on him. I won’t interfere.” (179). This makes it likely that the Connage family is of new-money, which is supported by Mrs.Connage, “And you know your father hasn’t what he once had”(166), if the Connage’s were of old-money it is likely that they would have money to fall back on somewhere in their family, but the way she phrases their loss of wealth solely on her husband makes it seem that he is self-made. This makes the persistence of Mrs. Connage to have her daughter marry money obvious, “There are several bachelor friends of your father’s that I want you to meet to-night--- youngish men”(167). The Connage’s are moving out of their home which is inferred to the reader to be a result of financial issues. Their status as a family is at risk, they do not come from old-money, therefore the only thing keeping them at the top of the pyramid is dollars and