Lucky's alcoholism

Lucky's alcoholism shapes both her precarious life in the Palace and her unexpected friendship with Angel. Though she drinks heavily, she is one of the few people who notices Angel's distress and tries to offer her care, making their companionship a rare source of concern and warmth in an exploitative setting.

Pattern and Circumstances

Lucky is described as an older prostitute whose thirst for brandy is making her grow heavy. She spends her free time drinking, and Angel distinguishes her from her own mother: Lucky drinks to be happy, while her mother drank to forget. The contrast makes Lucky's drinking a visible, if troubled, way of seeking relief rather than evidence that she understands Angel's past.

Friendship with Angel

Lucky is Angel's only friend, although she knows nothing of Angel's origins or the experiences that shaped her. Angel keeps her past off limits, but feels fondness for Lucky. When Lucky visits with a bottle and two glasses, she notices that Angel has been keeping to herself, asks if she is ill, and gently strokes her hair as she recognizes her sadness. Her concern persists despite her own dependence on drink.

Lucky also urges Angel to make plans and hold on to hope. Angel questions what there is to hope for, revealing the distance between Lucky's counsel and Angel's despair. Their exchanges do not erase that divide, but show Lucky continuing to reach toward her friend.

Consequences and Significance

Lucky's drinking puts her position at risk: Angel warns her that the Duchess has considered throwing her out unless she slows down. Lucky responds with bleak humor, pointing to the shortage of women among the men in the camp, then turns the conversation back to Angel's safety and warns that Magowan hates her. The moment presents her as both vulnerable to the Palace's rules and capable of looking beyond herself to protect a friend.

The novel gives Lucky's alcoholism a double significance. It marks her own precarious coping and exposes how little security she has, while her attention to Angel complicates any reduction of her to her drinking. Even as she carries a bottle, she offers companionship, practical warning, and a plea for Angel to imagine a future.