While the male characters in the book serve as little more than pawns, the female characters drive the action. Neena’s obsession with William is the inciting factor for the entire book. She exemplifies Obsession with Wealth and Status because her financial situation prevents her from attaining the status she craves. Again and again, Neena expresses her urgent desire to upgrade her life, from her house to her husband. Everything Neena does, even taking the job at Winthorpe Technologies and moving to Atherton, is driven by this need to upgrade: “The proximity that our houses would grant and the potential social introductions from Cat could be the keys to the kingdom I deserved to live in” (36).

Neena’s intense need to climb the social ladder is driven by a hunger for power, wealth, and status. William is only a tool toward this end. This is exemplified in the approach Neena takes to the affair—she doesn’t really care if she ends up with William or not; she’ll happily blackmail him for money or become “the next Mrs. Winthorpe,” which will also mean financial gain and status (99). William, the person, is just as irrelevant as Ned Plymouth, the most recent man Neena had an affair with and blackmailed, and to whom she dismissively refers.