Character Relationship Map: The Fast Set

Characters

• Ernest Steel (played by Adolphe Menjou) — supporting

  Ernest is the leader of the fast set and a romantic rival to Richard Sones. He hastens the couple's marital crisis by making love to Margaret, Richard's wife. After Margaret considers divorce and lear...

• Richard Sones (played by Elliott Dexter) — supporting

  Richard is a novelist and Margaret's husband, preferring the company of intellectuals to the fast set she enjoys. Their differences and his inattentiveness strain their marriage. To make a point at Ma...

• Mona (played by Zasu Pitts) — supporting

  Mona is described as a woman of the streets whom Richard brings to his wife's dinner party as an object lesson. He tells the guests that they should not resent her presence because she is a profession...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Ernest Steel → Mona (Unknown Shared Social Context) — The plot places Ernest's social circle and Mona within Richard's critique of social hypocrisy.

  Richard's dinner-party speech compares Mona's profession with the guests' amateur participation in the same social game, placing Ernest's fast set in...

• Richard Sones → Mona (Narrative Object Lesson Participants) — Richard uses Mona's presence to expose what he sees as hypocrisy among the dinner guests.

  Richard brings Mona, described as a woman of the streets, to his wife's dinner party to make a point about the guests' behavior.

• Ernest Steel → Richard Sones (Alliance Adviser) — Ernest ultimately gives Richard practical advice about repairing his marriage.

  After worsening the marital crisis, Ernest convinces Richard that he has been too inattentive and shows him how to win back his wife.

Story Analysis

A marriage strained by incompatible social values and romantic interference moves toward reconciliation through uncomfortable truths and unexpected advice.

Plot Progression

1. Separate Social Worlds — Richard prefers intellectual company, while his wife prefers the fast set. Their different tastes and lack of understanding begin to alienate them.
2. The Fast Set Intrudes — Ernest Steel, leader of the fast set, makes love to Richard's wife. His actions hasten the existing marital crisis.
3. Mona At Dinner — Richard brings Mona to his wife's dinner party as an object lesson. He argues that the guests should not resent her because she is professional in the same game they play as amateurs.
4. A Divorce In Doubt — Richard's wife decides upon a divorce. The decision changes when she learns that Ernest is not eager to marry her.
5. Advice Toward Reconciliation — Ernest takes a hand in the situation and convinces Richard that he has been too inattentive. He shows Richard how to win back his wife, who really loves him.