Although Holden Caulfield is too young to be served drinks in the Lavender Room in Chapter 10 of The Catcher in the Rye, he is more sophisticated than the three girls from Seattle, Washington who laugh at him when he asks if any of them would like to dance. Bernice is the one he favors because she is the best looking and a very good dancer. In those days most girls wanted to get married and have families. The pretty ones could stay at home, wherever "home" was, and have sufficient opportunities to mate. But homely ones like Marty and Laverne, and just so-so ones like Bernice, might have to circulate more before Mr. Right came along. Holden seems funny to them because he is obviously still a kid and definitely not Mr. Right. But he is perhaps better than nothing, and he is willing to spend money on them, and they probably think it looks better to be sitting with one male rather than looking like wallflowers and what they are--three girls hoping to find husbands somewhere, anywhere. And all of them probably will.
Bernice hardly says anything that doesn't sound shallow, but the thing that Holden singles out as a betrayal of her shallowness pops out, apropos of nothing, while they are dancing.
The funny thing is, I thought she was enjoying it, too, till all of a sudden she came out with this very dumb remark.
"I and my girl friends saw Peter Lorre last night," she said. "The movie actor. In person. He was buyin' a newspaper. He's cute."
It is typical of tourists who come to New York or Los Angeles to expect to see celebrities on every corner. But celebrities tend to stay away from tourist spots such as the Lavender Room. Most celebrities do not like to be stared at, although there are some exceptions. Holden considers Bernice's remark dumb because he has probably seen many famous people in Manhattan and is no longer thrilled or impressed. He probably has learned not to gape at people because he has gotten that peculiar cold stare that speaks volumes. It is not pleasant to meet celebrities as a rule. It is a disappointment. But still there are thousands of people who want to do it, and most of them are likely to mistake ordinary passers-by for famous personalities.
Holden is a very desperately lonely young man. He keeps trying to make contact with a variety of strangers and casual acquaintances in Manhattan and keeps getting disappointed and disillusioned. That is the main theme of this novel. His experience with the "three witches" from Seattle is just one of the many examples of his mistakes. He even invites one of the cab drivers to have a drink with him. His worst mistake is accepting Maurice's offer to send a girl to his hotel room in Chapter 13. Instead of having a fun time and losing his virginity with the girl called Sunny, Holden ends up feeling depressed. He feels even worse when Sunny and Maurice come back in Chapter 14 to extort another five dollars from him.
Sunny is another dumb girl who keeps expecting to see movie stars on every corner. In Chapter 13, she tells Holden he is cute and that he looks like a guy in the movies.
"What the heck's his name?"
"I don't know," I said. She wouldn't get off my goddamn lap.
"Sure you know. He was in that pitcher with Mel-vine Douglas? The one that was Mel-vine Douglas's kid brother? That falls off this boat? You know who I mean."
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