Who is Diana Steed, Mary Arena from The Human Comedy and what is their importance? The_Human_Comedy_(novel) English & Literature "Diana Steed

Diana Steed, Mary Arena: Neither of these two characters, young women of Ithaca, are particularly well developed, but they each serve a similar important function - to act as idealized inspiration to the men in their lives. The apparently wealthy, impulsive, passionate Diana inspires Spangler to a transforming experience of romantic love. The reserved Mary, who lives next door to the Macauley family, is portrayed as "the good girl", the loving, patient wife-to-be whom Marcus is desperate to come home to.