It could be either an actual quote or an over-the-top pastiche. One issue with Pineapple Street is that often you don't know what the author's stance is (as with that quote about the character who'd miss her latte maker in prison).

You always know with, say, House of Mirth that Edith Wharton understands the harm the rich can do with acts that appear to the less well-off to be just ridiculous. With Pineapple Street, you don't, and you've asked a perceptive question. Thanks!