Frances

" ' Yes, I'll tell. Robert had a little secretary on the magazine. Just the sweetest little thing in the world, and though she was, and then I came along and he thought I was pretty wonderful, too. So I made him get rid of her, and he had brought her to Provincetown from Carmel when he moved the magazine, and he didn't even pay her fare back to the coast. All to please me. He thought i was pretty fine, then. Didn't you Robert?'" (p. 56-7)

For all of the downfalls Cohn has later on in the novel, this is one thing that I do not think he deserved. Frances is clearly a very controlling woman, but during this tirade, one is able to see the strength and self-control Cohn has. Also, we are able to see why he might have fallen so hard for Brett. If she was kind to him, it would be an instant connection for him. It is just like if a puppy is abused, then goes into a loving home, it will become so much more attached if only for the fact that it feels safe for once. I also can't help but wonder if Cohn didn't get some of the personality he displays later in the book from the treatment of Frances. After all, in the end he seems to want to control everything that Brett does. Maybe after spending so much time under Frances's thumb, this was all he knew. Whatever the case may be, Frances is most definitely my least favorite character.