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Wolfsheim turns the conversation away from his cuff buttons to Gatsby's relations with women. What does he assure Nick of?

Wolfsheim's cuff buttons are one of those details from The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) that really stick in one's mind whether one wants them to or not.  The shock of finding out they are made of human teeth can almost make a reader miss what Wolfsheim has to say next to Nick.  He has already told Nick that Gatsby is a man of "fine breeding" (76), whom a person can take home to meet his mother.  After letting Nick know about the cuff buttons, he tells Nick that Gatsby "would never so much as look at a friend's wife" (77). At this point, Gatsby has already met privately with Jordan Baker, to explain to her his and Daisy's history and to ask her to ask Nick if Nick will arrange for Daisy to come to Nick's house for tea, so Gatsby can meet her there.  Wolfsheim is no doubt right in his assessment of Gatsby as a faithful friend, but Tom Buchanan is not Gatsby's friend. 

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