Summary

In Chapter 9, Cora and Louise are waiting in the lobby of a theater during a performance of the Ziegfeld Follies. Louise evaluates the chorus girls, saying they were all forcing their smiles. Cora mentally evaluates the chorus girls for their revealing outfits. Cora asks Louise if acting is not all about faking emotions, and Louise condemns this view as elementary, saying that real acting was channeling real emotions. The conversation turns to the crowd, which the pair agrees are elegant. Louise comments that many women in attendance are wearing “paint” (110). Cora recalls an argument they had earlier that evening, in which she refused to let Louise attend the theater wearing lipstick and blush. She does notice the less-than-conservative looks of the elegant guests, though, and wonders if she has fallen behind the times.

The pair agrees that they have bad seats. Louise hatches...