How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"Had he been a girl – my friend wrote – one would have said he was blooming – blooming modestly – like a violet, not like some of these blatant tropical flowers." (18.1)
It's striking how often Jim is compared to a girl in the novel. He's described as being shy, blushing, attractive to the point of pretty, demure. These comparisons tell us a lot about how gender was viewed at the time: men were manly and girls were girly, and there was supposed to be a very rigid distinction between the two. But because Jim has acted in an unmanly way, he'll have to suffer the unflatteringly feminine descriptions.