How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I heard a male voice asking what had happened to her "negre blanc", followed by all the other men laughing. I remember pausing—listening intently—but I never heard Margaret challenge the remark. She just ignored it. (12.206)
While on a date, Margaret runs into a few old friends, who make a backhand comment about Hassan's race. It's a little moment in the story and Margaret chooses to pretend it didn't happen rather than make it an issue. But it still happens.
Quote #8
The woman's curse—"You dirty Arab"—brought me abruptly back to the Rue des Carmes, and for the first time I really looked around at the Parisian indifference surrounding me in the market, so typically offhand, as if nothing of true significance had actually occurred. (14.11)
Even though he is now successful and established in Paris, Hassan still encounters racial discrimination. Chances are, this lady does not know that he's a hugely successful chef that probably makes way more money than her. Even if he didn't, though, she's still be way out of line.
Quote #9
Madame Verdun's old-fashioned way of talking always sounded to me like a deliberate attempt to let Paul's friends know that she was of "better" stock than her self-made husband. (15.10)
Paul Verdun's aristocratic wife shows prejudice toward those who aren't of the same high blood and upbringing as she is. This prejudice is less based on race or talent, and more about the fact that she inherited her money rather than having had to earn it. We shudder to imagine what she thinks of people who don't have much money at all.