Why is the scene of Holden's meeting with Luce in the Wicker Bar important in The Catcher in the Rye?

This episode occurs in Chapter Nineteen of this excellent
coming-of-age novel, and it represents yet another attempt of Holden Caulfield to reach
out and connect with someone and gain guidance in his situation. This time, however, he
chooses Luce, who was a sexual expert when they were at school together and told the
younger boys all about sex. Holden thinks that there is something quite "flitty" about
Luce, even though apparently he is interested in women. As they meet, Holden seems to
want to question Luce about sex and sexuality and is clearly looking for some kind of
mature guidance, but he approaches the topic by displaying his
immaturity:

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"What're you majoring in?" I asked him.
"Perverts?" I was only horsing
around.

Luce refuses to
respond to such jibes and after he leaves, Holden is left to feel somewhat disappointed
with himself, even though he claims that Luce is a phony, suggesting that he really
wanted to connect with him. Note Holden's appeal as Luce is
leaving:

"Have
just one more drink," I told him. "Please. I'm lonesome as hell. No
kidding."

We need to remember
how this event fits into the novel as a whole. We are presented with a series of
interactions that Holden has where he tries to connect with others, but with each
failure, Holden loses more faith both with humanity and with himself and is more and
more desperate to connect and break the cycle of loneliness from which he suffers. Note
the way that after Luce leaves, Holden tries to hit on two girls and then bursts into
tears before leaving to walk in the freezing cold.