She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice:
Chapter 2 · Narrator
Context
Myrtle descends into the garage and greets Tom in front of her husband George, who is unaware of the affair.
Analysis
The simile 'as if he were a ghost' renders Wilson already dead in Myrtle's consciousness—he is invisible, insubstantial, a non-entity. This foreshadows both Wilson's actual ghostlike existence throughout the novel and the way the affair will ultimately lead to death. The oxymoronic 'soft, coarse voice' captures Myrtle's contradictory nature: she attempts refinement but cannot fully suppress her origins. Her direct eye contact with Tom and the sensual lip-wetting contrast sharply with her dismissive treatment of George.
How to Use in Essay
Excellent for essays on power dynamics in relationships, the Wilson marriage as a foil to the Buchanan marriage.