How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
They simply did not know they were living their own lives [...] but assumed they lived someone else's. They tried to live the lives of their movie idols; and those lives were fantasy. (1.9.3)
Movies have a tendency to whitewash reality (and we mean that in more ways than one) and unrealistically portray the relationships between men and women. In other words, pop culture gives these young girls false expectations about reality that can't possibly be lived up to. Meridian went through the same thing when she was a kid and ended up paying for it dearly.
Quote #5
Of course it was kept secret from everyone that Meridian had been married and divorced and had had a child. It was assumed that Saxon young ladies were, by definition, virgins. (1.13.4)
Often, Saxon College seems less interested in educating its students and more interested in making them attractive potential wives. Meridian is an exception to this rule in many ways. Do you think that male students are treated the same way? Do you think that Truman ever had his moral character questioned because he wasn't a virgin? We doubt it.
Quote #6
But Truman did not want a general beside him. He did not want a woman who tried [...] to claim her own life. (1.14.92)
For a good portion of the novel, Truman holds misogynistic beliefs hidden beneath his political activism. If the guy practiced what he preached, he would be gung-ho about finding a woman as determined and strong as Meridian. But that simply doesn't happen.