The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular cafés with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomsoever he knew.
Chapter 2 · Narrator
Context
After revealing that he met Tom's mistress because of the train stop in the valley of ashes, Nick describes how Tom's affair was an open secret in their social circle.
Analysis
This passage reveals that Tom's affair offends his acquaintances not morally but socially—they 'resented' not the infidelity but its public display. The verb 'sauntered' captures Tom's arrogant indifference to social propriety, while 'leaving her at a table' treats Myrtle as an object to be deposited and retrieved. The passive construction 'was insisted upon' creates an impersonal force of gossip, suggesting a world where everyone knows but no one acts—a collective moral failure that enables Tom's behavior.
How to Use in Essay
Use in essays on the moral hypocrisy of the upper class, the social acceptance of infidelity, or Tom's brazen entitlement.