How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #7
"They are not for you. Many of them are in trade, and even we are little more; you should have gentlefolk and nobility for your friends." "Poor fellow," thought Lilia. "It is sad for him to discover that his people are vulgar." (3.27)
Gino recognizes that his friends, who are members of the poor working class, would not be suitable company for his wife, who should only be surrounded by "gentlefolk and nobility." Even though Lilia agrees that her husband's friends are "vulgar," she still expects their Italian neighbors to attend the English tea parties she wants to host. And the clash of cultures here is what Forster highlights so masterfully.
Quote #8
"But, Gino dear, if they're low class, why did you talk to them? Don't you care about your position?" (3.49)
Psst: Edwardian thinking was just like Mean Girls. Lilia would like to think that she has overcome social class differences when she married Gino, but she still acknowledges that social status is important. She thinks that Gino shouldn't associate with people of "low class" if he cares about his position in society, but if that's her line of reasoning, then didn't she "lower" her own status in society by marrying a penniless Italian?
Quote #9
Lilia had no religion in her; but for hours at a time she would be seized with a vulgar fear that she was not "married properly," and that her social position in the next world might be as obscure as it was in this. (4.3)
As her marriage starts to crumble, Lilia becomes more aware of how far down she has fallen on the social ladder. Yeah, Lilia is so obsessed with social class that she thinks that heaven will having a social pecking order. Yuck.