Character Analysis
Gladys is the queen of complaining, and her health is always in the dumps, even for a vampire. Nina thinks: "Gladys smells like a hippie, because she's always treating her manifold health problems with miraculous new oils or exercises or meditation techniques" (1.53). Hey, better that than blood or death or vomit.
Gladys doesn't just smell like a hippie, though—she looks like one, too. She's always wearing long flowing skirts: "Having been infected back in 1908, she can't bear to expose her legs; ladies didn't do that sort of thing in the old days, and Gladys likes to think of herself as a lady—even though she was a common streetwalker" (1.53). Hey, if you're going to live for a ridiculously long time, it seems totally legit to experiment with your identity in the world, right? If nothing else, it probably keeps things interesting.
That said, in her streetwalker-to-lady transformation, we also see hints of vanity coming through in Gladys. To this end, Nina's annoyed that "Gladys happens to be a chronic whiner, who claims that she suffers more severely from symptoms and side effects than the rest of us do—though I've noticed that she's never too sick to curl and color her hair. (She's not a natural blonde, that's for sure)" (2.18). In other words, much as Gladys complains about how terribly sick she is, she always summons the strength to make sure she looks good.
Even in a rushed situation, like when the vamps who've failed blooding have to head into the basement to avoid temptation from Nefley's blood, Gladys finds a way to whine: "Well, I suppose I'd better make myself scarce, since I'm obviously such an impediment to everything […] It's a wonder I'm allowed out of my smelly old sleeping bag at all, really, when you consider what a nuisance I am" (18.74). Oh, woe is her, that's for sure.
It's pretty clear that Gladys is whiny. She's also a little defensive because she failed being blooded for the first time, resulting in her biting Bridget and infecting her. She's not a pleasant person to be around, but at least she's not downright mean, right? Something like that anyway.