How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #1
She was helpless before such effrontery. What awful thing—what awful person had come to Lilia? "Some one in the hotel." The letter only said that. What kind of person? A gentleman? An Englishman? The letter did not say. (1.76)
Behold Mrs. Herriton flipping out over the news of Lilia's engagement. What's crucial here is that Mrs. Herriton isn't worried about Lilia getting her heart broken. Mrs. Herriton doesn't ask herself, "Is Lilia happy? Does this mysterious man deserve to be with her?" Nope. The only thoughts swirling through her head are questions concerning the social status of this mystery man. Mrs. Herriton is terrified that the family name will be disgraced if Lilia has fallen for a foreigner who doesn't have a respectable position within society—and of course, Mrs. Herriton's worst fears are confirmed.
Quote #2
"If Lilia was determined to disgrace us, she might have found a less repulsive way. A boy of medium height with a pretty face, the son of a dentist at Monteriano. Have I put it correctly? May I surmise that he has not got one penny? May I also surmise that his social position is nil?" (2.61)
In Philip's point of view, Gino is pretty much the worst possible person that Lilia could have fallen for. Let us count the reasons why: 1) he's a "boy," only 22 years old and 10 years younger than Lilia; 2) he's the "son of a dentist," meaning he's part of the poor working class; 3) he's Italian, and not a respectable Englishman; 4) he hasn't got a single penny, so he's totally going after Lilia's money; and 5) he has absolutely no "social position." Like his mother, Philip is very conscious of his position in society and he's not about to let an Italian country boy threaten it.
Quote #3
"Indeed, Philip, you surprise me. I understood you went in for equality and so on." (2.97)
In this scene, Lilia calls Philip out on his hypocrisy—he talks convincingly about the importance of equality between social classes, but it's all just a lot of hot air. When faced with the prospect of having a poor working-class Italian as a brother-in-law, Philip is quick to take back his words. It's pretty obvious to us that Philip thinks he's superior to Gino.