Sigh. This is the meaning of "independence" in the context of discussion we were having:
Note the part after "instead". No, even 50 years ago (which is, incidentally, fucking 1970s) you didn't have to be the ruler of the world in order to be able to live without a husband and have your own money and a place to live. It is far less of an achievement than you seem to believe it was.
What circles? Felicia had her wealth in form of allowance and a comfortable place to live provided by her husband, and now she wants to be able to support her own existence. What is "running in crcles" about it?
Realistically, if Felicia can get in the club as a member, then all she needs is to make few hundred thousand of dollars from rich fucks who don't even consider this kind of money as real expenditure. You think she'll have soooo much difficulty convincing a few of them to drop 50-100k on her for what she can provide them with? Don't forget, Chuck has decides to fund Edwin's medical studies (that's ~60k/year) basically on a whim, because his favorite nephew wanted his friend to work with him.