Rita is empathetic (booking Phil into a Bed and Breakfast rather than the usual hotel), concerned for others (she always toasts to world peace), optimistic (she suggests that Phil's predicament is a blessing rather than a curse) and self-doubting (she is embarrassed to mention that her major in university was French literature). Unlike Phil, she never tells a lie or says a harsh word about anyone. The character of Queenie is less developed-she is only shown though the narrator's eyes as she walks through the supermarket with her two friends. However, she still represents something that Sammy is not: she is a leader and she is blithely unconventional; she is a challenge to the status quo. When Sammy sees the girls he comments .
"You know it's one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach. Where . . . nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A&P under the fluorescent lights . . .
Sammy says nothing to indicate that he disagrees with the social norm. Queenie, however, sees no reason to adhere to such conventions. When scolded by the manager, she replies by saying, "We are decent". It never occurs to her that what she has been doing might not be acceptable. Thus, Rita, the sensitive, caring person, and Queenie, the non-conformist, act as possible role models for the male protagonists to aspire to: .
The attraction Phil feels toward Rita and Sammy feels toward Queenie is the motivating force that compels the men to change. Phil's attraction to Rita first becomes obvious when he accidentally calls her name while seducing Nancy. Sammy's erotically charged description of Queenie's breasts, "the smooth scoops of vanilla", reveals that he is sexually attracted to her. The physical attraction that Phil and Sammy experience leads each to look first at the objects of his desire and then into his own heart. Each man must ask himself if he is worthy of that person's affection.
