2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

The dances the girls attend are well orchestrated to loosen the women up with alcohol and pair them up with the men attending. What did you make of all this? Were they really having fun?

I don't know if I'd call it fun. I'm guessing that the fun part was getting some new items (hats, shoes, jewelry) that they couldn't afford on their own.

I thought those dances were demoralizing, sort of like a job for the girls. The alcohol anesthetized them. Now, I thought they were having fun at Coney Island, though.

I think they thought they were having fun. Like Sarah said, they have to believe there is at least a smidgen of romance involved.

Given how there were so few bright moments in these girls lives, this may have provided some fun. I just didn’t get that impression from Lisle. All hoped to find a man to take care of them forever.

I don't know whether the concept of true fun was there; I was depressed just reading about these poor girls and I despised the men who took advantage of them.

Me, too, Charlene:(

The whole situation was depressing. The fact that these girls really had no other choice and just wanted a bit of something special in their lives. Very sad!

It definitely was dismal.

It was sad. They were doing it because they couldn't afford entertainments with their low wages, but they were so focused on getting the men to buy them things that they ended up not having as much fun as they could have. I'm sure they thought it was more fun than their otherwise dull lives, but I cannot help thinking that they would have enjoyed themselves much more if they stopped thinking about the reward and just spent a merry night enjoying dancing with friends instead.

That’s a great point, Guilia! And maybe those who ended up marrying their guy did just that.

Ugh. Hated those dances. They were not designed for the girls' entertainment at all but to exploit them for men's pleasure. The more history I read on repressed women the more outraged I get LOL.