Quote 1
And looking at the coat in the mirror, I couldn’t fend off the strength of her will anymore, her ability to make me see black where there was once white, white where there was once black. The coat looked shabby, an imitation of romance. (III.2.34)
Lindo has the power to transform Waverly’s perceptions through her criticisms.
Quote 2
And even if I recognized her strategy, her sneak attack, I was afraid that some unseen speck of truth would fly into my eye, blur what I was seeing and transform him from the divine man I thought he was into someone quite mundane, mortally wounded with tiresome habits and irritating imperfections. (III.2.72)
Waverly is afraid Lindo will transform Rich into an ordinary man through criticisms.
Quote 3
When I was in love with Marvin, he was nearly perfect…But by the time my mother had had her say about him, I saw his brain had shrunk from laziness, so that now it was good only for thinking up excuses. He chased golf and tennis balls to run away from family responsibilities. His eyes wandered up and down other girls’ legs, so he didn’t know how to drive home straight anymore. (III.2.74)
Lindo points out inescapable truths about Marvin; he is perfect in Waverly’s eyes no longer.