But Marietta never could stand men laughing. There were always places she hated to go past, let alone into, and that was the reason. Men laughing. […] A bunch of men standing out on the street, outside a hotel, seemed to Marietta like a clot of poison. You tried not to hear what they were saying, but you could be sure it was vile. If they didn’t say anything, they laughed and vileness spread out from them – poison – just the same.