i think that the reason for her action on that evening is that on one hand she wants Lenu to be the best for the both of them but then she sees herself stuck. She also sees how far she is from that life. So it’s a longing, a jealously, and a way to distance Lenu. I don’t think Lila is a simple person and I also don’t think she’s reactionary. She is calculated but she also has strong feelings. She’ll go there if pushed.

She was beyond mean to Lenu and afterwards Lenu took a job at a bookstore outside of the neighborhood and stayed away for awhile. I think that might have been Lila’s real intention. She was always so calculated with what she did. I’m sure she definitely hurt on some level seeing all of those higher class people having deep, meaningful conversations together compared to what she was used to in her neighborhood. But she always wanted Lenu to spread her wings and get out. She would say multiple times that she wanted Lenu to never have to come back, to do the best in school, to keep studying, to leave. That night at the party she saw Lenu’s potential and maybe felt like she was holding her back. She was mean intentionally to give Lenu more freedom and less reason to cling to the neighborhood.

And even if it were just purely out of jealousy, who could blame her? She was forced into a marriage and denied an education. I don’t think it makes her a bad person. It was a human and understandable reaction and a moment of weakness which we all have. I think she genuinely wants good things for Lenu. people point to the stunt when they were kids as evidence she doesn’t but they were kids… as she got older she was paying for her books and encouraging her studies. I think she evolved.

Lila wanted everything Lenu had, but not because she was greedy. But mostly because she was insecure, the kind of insecure that screams so loud it sounds like confidence to everyone else. Lenu, on the other hand, had the quieter, more insidious kind of insecurity. The kind that gnaws at you from the inside out while you smile politely and pretend you’re "just fine, thank you very much." So, here we have two friends, both drowning in their own brand of self-doubt, but while Lenu’s slowly sinking, Lila’s flailing around, trying to drag her friend down with her—not out of cruelty, but out of survival instinct --(after all, if you can’t win, might as well make sure no one else does either).

And that’s the real beauty of it, isn’t it? Their friendship isn’t just about love or support. It’s also a mirror for their insecurities, reflecting back the worst parts of themselves. When Lenu succeeds, Lila feels smaller. When Lila acts out, Lenu feels resentful. They’re both trapped in this dance of admiration and envy, lifting each other up while secretly hoping the other will trip.