Who is Melissa from Justine and what is their importance? Justine_(novel) English & Literature Melissa | Justine

The young woman who sees the narrator and inserts herself into his life. Melissa and the narrator have met on several occasions but do not really know each other until the night she is given a concoction including Spanish Fly. When she reacts to the drug and is desperately ill, the narrator takes her to his apartment and nurses her until she's moved to a hospital. Melissa returns later to thank him for his care and brings him a gift of flowers, but is too shy to give them to him and takes them with her when she leaves. Melissa's shyness is a direct contrast to her occupation as a dancer. As part of her job, she is to collect donations from the audience and her embarrassment at this is so evident that the narrator gives her all the money he has in his pocket, hoping to alleviate her embarrassment. Melissa suffers from some sort of disease that includes lesions and eventually leaves the narrator in order to be treated for this ailment.