Flowers for Algernonの主人公、Charlie、のアパートの隣の住人、Fay、は若い女性で、その女性の部屋にCharlieは入りました。
The place was a shambles. There were dozens of little folding snack-tables, all covered with twisted tubes of paint, most of them crusted dry like shriveled snakes, but some of them alive and oozing ribbons of color. Tubes, brushes, cans, rags, and parts of frames and canvas were strewn everywhere. The place was thick with the ordor compounded of paint, linseed oil, and turpentine--and after a few moments the subtle aroma of stale beer. Three overstuffed chairs and a mangy green couch were piled high with discarded clothing, and on the floor lay shoes, stockings and underthings, as if she were in the habit of undressing as she walked and flinging her clothes as she went.
実に乱雑な部屋の様子が良く分かります。今日覚えたい単語は "flinging" です。 状況からして、服を歩きながら脱いで "flinging" となると、「投げ捨てる」の意味だと思いますが、辞書で確かめます。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to throw something carelessly or with a lot of force: fling something over/across/onto etc.: She flung a book across the room at me: His coat had been flung over the back of a chair.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to throw forcefully, impetuously, or casually: flung herself down on the sofa: clothes were flung on the floor
Vocabulary.comの丁寧な説明も詠んで見ましょう
To fling is to throw something with force. You'll start a food fight in the cafeteria if you fling your vegetables at the kid across the table.
The act of throwing something recklessly or with force can also be called a fling. Your mail sorting ritual might be putting bills in one pile and personal letters in another, then giving junk mail a fling into the recycling bin. A brief period of revelry or indulgence is another kind of fling. You and your friends could plan a weekend fling in New York, staying in a hotel, eating out, and shopping without worrying about how much money you spend.
服を投げ散らかすのは感心しませんが、毎週とは言いませんが "a yearend fling" 位は楽しみたいですね。