Has anyone else noticed the parallels between Edie and the Holly Golightly character in Breakfast At Tiffany's? The film is mentioned in Factory Girl, though only superficially. I think many aspects of the character reflect Edie, for example:
-Holly is raised on a farm and runs away due to family conflicts.
-Holly becomes a street smart New York socialite/society girl.
-Holly is an extroverted free spirit who runs away from personal issues and refuses to be 'put in a cage'.
-Holly is considered shocking and somewhat vulgar for her time but has an innocent sweetness that charms everyone around her.
-Despite Holly's glamorous image, her lack of paid employment means she rarely has money and mostly gets by on charming rich friends into giving her cash.
-The book comments on the shifting position of mid-century art into the consumer culture, Holly's self-constructed persona being the major symbol.
-The death of Holly's brother affects her deeply and causes her to live faster and run away from personal issues even more.
-Holly considers all the rich men she escorts "rats"; Edie says she wouldn't marry for money because all the rich men she knows are "pigs".
-Holly is arrested for being paid to send coded messages to a drug dealer; Edie was also arrested for dealing drugs.
-Holly is suggested to be a part-time prostitute in the book; Edie prostituted herself to a biker gang.
-Holly inspired a an author of fiction; Edie inspired numerous songwriters.
-Horses are a reoccurring motif in the book, symbolising Holly's untamed rejection of social convention, as they were in Edie's life.
-Holly says you can always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you, Edie said someone could assess her psychological condition by her earrings (okay that was a random one)
-Holly runs away at the end of the book to find her new home, leaving the ending ambiguous, similar to Edie's own ending.