How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The woman who churned a man's blood as she leaned all alone on a fence by a country road might not expect ever to catch his eyes in the City. But if she is clipping quickly down the big-city street in heels, swinging her purse, or sitting on a stoop with a cool beer in her hand, dangling her shoes from the toes of her foot, the man, reacting to her posture, to soft skin on stone, the weight of the building stressing the delicate, dangling shoes is captured. (2.15)
Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's New York City making her look good? That lady is not as pretty as you think she is—it's just the City making her look hot. The City is basically the first form of PhotoShop, giving all those New York lassies a nice airbrushed finish. The idea is that the City is built on such illusion that it influences even the most basic human interaction: chemistry.
Quote #5
Alice Manfred had worked hard to privatize her niece, but she was no match for a City seeping music that begged and challenged each and every day. "Come," it said. "Come and do wrong." (3.34)
Yeah, Dorcas is a good girl gone bad. At least according to Aunt Alice. And guess who's to blame? Dorcas? Nope. Aunt Alice? Uh-uh. Joe? Try again. It's everyone's favorite scapegoat: the City. Oh, and jazz. If everyone had just stayed in the country…
Quote #6
Joe didn't want babies either so all those miscarriages—two in the field, only one in bed—were more inconvenience than loss. And city life would be so much better without them. (4.30)
We know that Alice and Joe don't want babies, and Jazz takes place before birth control. In order be able to live in New York, Alice induces miscarriages in order to keep her and Joe's freedom and funds intact. The siren song of New York is seriously powerful, guys.