At 158th Street the cab stopped at one slice in a long white cake of apartment-houses. Throwing a regal homecoming glance around the neighborhood, Mrs. Wilson gathered up her dog and her other purchases, and went haughtily in.
Chapter 2 · Narrator
Context
The taxi arrives at the apartment Tom keeps for his affair with Myrtle. Mrs. Wilson assumes an air of grandeur as she enters the building.
Analysis
The metaphor of the apartment building as a 'long white cake' reduces the supposedly impressive destination to something ordinary and mass-produced—one 'slice' among many. Myrtle's 'regal homecoming glance' is deeply ironic: she plays queen of a domain that is neither truly hers nor remotely regal. The word 'haughtily' exposes the performed nature of her dignity, while 'her other purchases' equates the dog with the cold cream and perfume—all props in her performance of affluence. Nick's dry observation quietly satirizes her pretensions.
How to Use in Essay
Useful for essays on Myrtle's self-construction through consumerism, the gap between aspiration and reality, or Fitzgerald's satirical technique.