Sentence:  “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged <WSD>dowagers</WSD>, the worn-out, passionless men, the enervated matrons of the summer capital, the chlorotic squatters on huge yachts,nb...!” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a widow holding property or title derived from her late husband