Connie has earlier lamented that “words” are swallowing real experience, but now she gets more specific: material life (houses and parties and marriage licenses) has replaced emotional life, and so words that express feelings—like “joy”—no longer have any meaning. In this critical passage, then, the novel suggests that its characters have replaced the normal, human hunger for sex, peace, and companionship with a single-minded focus on accruing wealth.