Mrs. Welch's Bed Sheets

After a night of serious drinking, Jim wakes up incredibly hungover in one of the Welches' guest bedrooms. But it doesn't take him long to realize that there's something wrong with his sheets:

He ran his finger round a bit of hole in the sheet, and when he looked at his finger it bore a dark-grey stain. That meant ash; ash meant burning; burning must mean cigarettes. (6.2)

You got it. The guy fell asleep with a lit cigarette in his mouth and nearly burned himself to death. And just in case you're laughing at this too much, heed Shmoop's warning that a ton of fires get started that way. (See how concerned we are for your safety?) But now that Jim's realized what's happened, he has to weasel his way out of the situation and try to hide what he's done. You can think of the ruined bed sheets, which Jim then mutilates even further, as symbolizing how Jim's bent on destroying his career and his personal life. No good can possibly come out of it.

Or can it?

The ruined sheets are also what bring Jim and Christine together for the first time. Until this point in the book, the two of them have a pretty distant relationship. But after Christine steps up and helps him hide his crimes, Jim can't help but notice that Christine has a fun, rebellious side.

Christine's way of helping Jim is something Amis contrasts with Margaret's reaction. Margaret basically tells Jim that he's immature and irresponsible. So when all's said and done, Mrs. Welch's bed sheets are really what push Jim toward Christine and away from Margaret.