Quicksand

A year passes, during which time Helga obtains work at the insurance company. Anne introduces Helga to others “with tastes and ideas similar to her own” (43), and she enjoys socializing with them. The friends who she meets in New York all look upon Naxos with contempt and she finally experiences a sense of belonging.

Her friendship with Ann becomes “peculiarly sympathetic” (44), and Helga accepts the invitation to remain in residence at her home. She enjoys the tastefully-decorated rooms and expensive antiques and books that are part of the décor, and regards Anne’s financial independence and social connections as making her “almost perfect” (45). Helga also enjoys the energy in Harlem, but is alienated by “the sober mad rush of white New York” (45).

Her intention is to marry a “financially successful” man of color, and she dreams of the elaborate home and material items with which one of them would be able to provide her (45). Helga forgets her former fiancée, James Vayle, entirely, but is troubled by her frequent thought of Dr. Anderson, the principal at Naxos. With this exception, her time in Harlem is quite happy, and a complete contrast to her unhappy Chicago childhood and her unsuccessful tenure at Naxos.