The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Women and Femininity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Holmes knew he possessed great power over Julia. First there was the power that accrued to him naturally through his ability to bewitch men and women alike with false candor and warmth. (2.4.2)

Holmes is the ultimate ladies' man. He's attractive, super rich, and has a neat display of torturous surgical tools. What more could a girl want?

Quote #5

And this was Chicago. Things were different here, less rigid and formal. Everywhere [Minnie] went she found women her own age, unescorted, holding jobs, living their own lives. (2.12.18)

While women like Minnie are attracted to the prospect of living and working alone, they're also drawn to the personal freedoms the city offers.

Quote #6

Holmes was warm and charming and talkative and touched them with a familiarity that, while perhaps offensive back home, somehow seemed all right in this new world of Chicago—just another aspect of the great adventure on which these women had embarked. And what good was an adventure if it did not feel a little dangerous? (3.2.11)

Is Holmes violating the rules of personal space? That's okay: this must be what people do in Chicago. It's normal here, right?