How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"You should not hesitate, then, to go up to-morrow and ask a duchess to marry you?" (8.76)
Valentin is testing Newman's limits. How far will his ambition go? (The answer: to the moon and back.)
Quote #8
"And—in that way—is Madam de Cintre ambitious?" (8.69).
Notice how Newman tosses that question off oh-so-casually. He's definitely curious to find out if Claire is ambitious, because ambition is a virtue to our favorite All-American boy.
Quote #9
"I think she might be touched by the prospect of becoming the wife of a great man." (8.70)
Women's ambitions in The American are always limited to good marriages. They're handcuffed by being women in the 19th Century. Not only couldn't they rise in a career, but their only worth was measured by how well they married.