Chapter 19

Holden reaches the Wicker Bar at the Seton Hotel, which he thinks is quite fancy. He is served drinks despite being underage. When Carl Luce arrives, Holden asks him several personal questions. Prior to Carl’s arrival, Holden was trying to assess if a group of men at the other end of the bar were gay. He asks Carl if the men might be gay, and Carl merely tells Holden to grow up. Holden then tells Carl about his love life, while admitting that his own love life is lousy. He tells Carl that he cannot be intimate with a girl unless he really likes her. Carl suggests that Holden talk to a psychoanalyst who might help him identify the patterns underlying his thought process. Holden calls him a friendly bastard.

Carl then reveals that he has been seeing an older woman, a Chinese sculptor who lives at Greenwich Village. He tells Holden that he has to leave, that he is on his way to meet his lover. Holden insists that he stay for one more drink, but Carl refuses, leaving Holden alone at the bar.