As a postman, Irene T.'s father made a comfortable living. But both her parents were ambitious for their daughter to mingle with the sons and daughters of wealthier people. They encouraged her to try for membership in the more exclusive girls clubs that flourish in every high school, and are usually open to the more affluent. They even sensed that perhaps sexual rites might be practiced in such a club but they chose to ignore the thought. They closed their eyes to the disagreeable and preferred only to realize their own ambition. They were really more concerned with their own status than that of their daughter.
The problem in this case was not that of a wayward daughter but of overly ambitious parents who wanted to relive their lives vicariously through their own daughter.