Final answer:
Marjorie's responses to Bernice range from critical advice about fitting into the social scene to dismissive and unsympathetic gestures when Bernice is emotionally distressed.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the provided excerpts, Marjorie's responses to Bernice's actions can be described as frank, critical, and at times, dispassionate. Initially, Marjorie is focused on superficial changes such as Bernice bobbing her hair, highlighting societal perceptions of beauty.
When confronted, she defends her attempts to help Bernice integrate with her social group by criticizing Bernice's lack of social skills and charismatic qualities. Additionally, Marjorie bluntly dismisses Bernice's romantic thoughts about Warren, indicating a lack of empathy.
Marjorie's character comes across as practical and somewhat cold, prioritizing social norms and reputations over familial loyalty or emotional support. Even when offering her month's allowance to Bernice, Marjorie's solution is transactional, emphasizing her desire to manage the situation efficiently rather than addressing the emotional turmoil Bernice experiences.
In the short story, Bernice and Marjorie have a disagreement about Bernice's popularity and social skills. When Bernice confronts Marjorie about her comments to her mother, Marjorie remains calm and suggests that Bernice should try to improve her social skills in order to be more interesting to others.
Marjorie criticizes Bernice for relying on superficial qualities and affectations to attract attention, and Bernice is left feeling hurt and unsure of herself.