Charming as a Verb

Columbia University symbolizes Jacques’s view of the American Dream. To Jacques, Columbia is the pinnacle of success in New York. Henri’s attendance at Columbia would guarantee financial future and happiness. It would prove that all the sacrifices Jacques and his wife made were worth it. Columbia, however, is an elite school that is often closed off to people like Henri, who perform well but do not have connections or wealth. Admission into Columbia comes at the price of Henri’s moral code, highlighting that Columbia is not the place for him. It also symbolizes the pressure Henri feels to succeed by gaining acceptance to the University, and the desperation that drives him to send the false email.

Columbia and McGill develop into foils over the course of the story, with McGill coming to represent not only a better fit and perfect program for Henri’s true interests in design, but also a new home for his next four years in a city that immediately appeals to Henri’s developing, authentic sense of self that Corrine is helping to bring out. Whereas the interview with the Columbia alumnus Donielle showcases Henri’s insincere praise for the university, he feels relaxed, confident, and comfortable in the interview at McGill. Henri’s ideas about Columbia are filtered through his father’s positive praises and perception of the meaning of the school, while McGill’s campus is unique, real, interesting and inspiring to Henri himself, and “aged to just the right age” (187). Even the cold weather and snow of late winter in Montreal symbolizes the crisp, new start Henri would experience if he chose McGill over Columbia.