The Miracles of Art - chapter two

The Miracles of Art
We are introduced to the narrator of the first chapter, first sentence, "My name is Renee.I am fifty-four years old..."
Hints of the books themes appear immediately.
1.  Class status: Renee's status: working woman, widowed, no formal education, short, ulgy, plump with bad breath.
2.  Isolation: she and her cat choose not to socialize or connect in an intimate way with outsiders.
3.  Stereotypes: she conforms to social prejudices, "concierges are old, ugly and sour,..."
4.  Social hierarchy: rich vs. poor, she is a pauper in a "house full of rich people."

Renee perpetuates these stereotypes by playing the television all day in the front room. She has created a spy-hole to watch her neighbors comings and goings while watches Death in Venice or listens to Mahler in her "hideaway."
The miracles of art chapter title: "I was in the back room, perfectly euphoric, my eyes filling with tears, in the miraculous presence of Art."