Friendship

Throughout the novel, the author thematically examines the invaluable nature of friendship. At the outset of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, the main character believes that owning a pricey designer dress would be an invaluable achievement. Mrs. Harris thinks that the Dior dress is a delightfully improbable possession because of “the very outrageousness of the [price that] put[s] it into a wholly different category” (25). As the charwoman scrimps and saves enough money for the designer gown, her friend, Mrs. Butterfield, supports her endeavors. Mrs. Butterfield is loyal and encouraging because she values her friendship with Mrs. Harris. Their friendship is not determined by wealth or material possession but mutual affection.

Later on in the novel, Mrs. Harris forms a friendship with a wealthy Frenchman, the Marquis de Chassagne. They meet at the presentation for Dior’s new line of dresses when they are seated next...