What does “taking in the scene” mean?
This is from “The Quants” by Scott Patterson:
Peter Muller stepped into the posh Versailles Room of the century old St. Regis Hotel in midtown Manhattan and took in the glittering scene in a glance.
It wasn’t the trio of cut-glass chandeliers hung from a gilt-laden ceiling that caught his attention, nor the pair of antique floor-to-ceiling mirrors to his left, nor the guests’ svelte Armani suits and gemstudded dresses. What his skulking looked like to me? Why would he feel the smell of money and cash? I don’t have to share it in another room. I had never seen testosterone-fueled competition, so I stepped on it. And the sweet perfume of something he loved even more. Pure testosterone-fueled competition. Is there ever any room in the world that is completely incinerating? His people.
“Taking in the scene” is used in this context most likely to refer to the character being at some distance from the object of his observance (in this case the room and those in it) and examining it as a whole (as an overview). Without more context from the rest of the paragraph, it’s hard to tell what else the character was doing at that moment.
Though, the character has a strong moral quality, its lack of relevance can make the character less convincing that he had started writing.
