p. 63:
‘It takes two to make an accident.’
Here is the page where we really get to know Jordan Baker, the other woman at the center of the novel. Daisy is the one who has become legend, the unforgettable golden girl for whom all was dreamt and all was lost. But I always liked Jordan better, not least because she is revealed here to be an incurable liar.
When Nick scolds her for being a careless driver, she first lies that she is careful, then lightly insists that she doesn’t have to be careful since other people are. Nick points out that she’ll be in trouble if she meets someone as careless as herself, and she deftly turns the conversation to their relationship, declaring her affection for solid, careful Nick.
Nick knows this lovely girl is a liar, but ‘Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply – I was casually sorry, and then I forgot.’ Is a thing truly forgotten if it’s remembered well enough to write down later? Jordan’s not the only one with a loose concept of the truth. It takes two.
ginsudo 