This Side of Paradise

It’s now February 1919, and Amory has returned from the war and is almost 22. At the Connage house in New York, 19-year-old Rosalind and her sister Cecilia are preparing for Rosalind’s coming-out party. Amory arrives and waits downstairs. Alec tells Cecilia, Rosalind, and Mrs. Connage about Amory before he and his mother go downstairs. The two sisters remain upstairs and talk about Rosalind’s coming of age, and Cecilia teases Rosalind for loving too many male admirers. She then goes downstairs, leaving Rosalind alone. Rosalind dances in front of the mirror, and Amory enters the room.

They introduce themselves and instantly like each other. They kiss, but Rosalind refuses when Amory asks her to kiss him again. The couple continues to flirt with each other, and Amory eventually leaves. Mrs. Connage returns and tells Rosalind that the family fortune is dwindling and this might be their final year in the house. She then gives her daughter instructions regarding what men to associate with and which to avoid, specifically mentioning Dawson Ryder, a wealthy young man she likes. Mrs. Connage then returns downstairs with Rosalind.

“Several Hours Later”: In a downstairs den, Rosalind and Howard Gillespie discuss their relationship.