Franny and Zooey

Franny Glass is the protagonist of the short story Franny. Franny is a beautiful, young woman with dark hair and blue eyes. She is the youngest of the Glass children. Franny’s main internal conflict stems from her desire to pursue spirituality over academia, because she finds material pursuits inauthentic and centered around people’s egos.

Franny’s conversation with Lane at the restaurant pushes her toward a pursuit of spiritual achievements, rather than academic ones. Lane’s self-centeredness and obsession with maintaining a façade of success upsets Franny. Lane does not understand Franny’s behavior, because he does not take the time to listen to her. His lack of care causes Franny to spiral as she dissects what he says in a way that makes Lane feel threatened. Although Franny wants to fall in line because she does not like causing a fuss, she cannot help but antagonize Lane because he represents everything she hates about ego and phoniness. When Lane seems more interested in having sex with her than listening to her, Franny retreats even further into the solitude of prayer. She no longer wants to participate in a version of society that values her only for her achievements or what she can give to another person, and instead she decides to pursue a life of spiritual achievement.