Take A Bow [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 13&14]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"'At first I thought I couldn't, because we'd been brought up together, and I knew he knew about me. But after a while I began to see that that made it easier'" (Wharton, 256). The latter acts a a foreshadow to the revelation Lily has later in the section that the person in her life described as previous is Selden. Selden always knew the true Lily. He represents that even though Lily could not always see who she really was, her true self always remained. Her "other self" was brought to her attention in Selden's presence, but I think that it was simply a symbolic matter. As in today's world there are people and events that lead one away and toward who they really are.

Lily is beginning to turn her life around and to see her true self without the presence of Selden. Foreshadowed a little bit earlier in the story was the possible overdose. It was ironic that Selden had come to Lily's before he knew of her state just to tell her "the word." The connection is drawn assuming that Selden's word is the same word as Lily's word. They had always loved each other, and now that Lily is dead they finally understand. I thought that was a fairly odd way to end the story, but I did not write the book.

But the question remains:

Truth Revealed (Finally) [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 11&12]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Rosedale comes back to one more time try to help Lily. However, his standards of living did not change; his social status remained his top priority. "...and it touched her oddly to see that his new passion had not altered his old standard of living" (Wharton, 244). Just when you think he has changed, we go right back to square one. Rosedale does not appear to be an option for Lily anymore, so we once again go back to Selden. (I would gladly say "I told you so," but that would imply that I feel this book should have been over with 200 plus pages ago.)

"She had a vision of his (Selden's) quiet room, of the bookshelves, and the fire on the hearth" (Wharton, 247). Flashbacks play an important role in the second part of this section. Lily recalls different conversations she had in the past with Selden that lead her to make the decisions she had. The flashbacks act as a means of revelation of how she truly feels about Selden. (Not that any of us readers were fooled by her constantly turning her head) However, due to Lily previously turning him down, twice, Selden could not find the courage to again express his love for her, which I would say is understandable based on the circumstances; but we are all thinking to ourselves, "Just tell her!" However once again we are led along this journey where once again the two go their separate ways.

Mingling With Fate [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 9&10]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Lily Bart is working for Mrs. Hatch as a secretary, but Selden warns her of the ruin that Mrs. Hatch could do to Lily. Due to the stubbornness of Selden and Lily, Lily could never allow Selden to know he was right, so she secretly moves back into town and begins working at Mme. Regina's. She learns what it is like to live in the working class. Rich girl goes broke: that would make a great editorial. After growing up despising those who were not of her standards, she becomes even poorer than most of them. I would say that is a dose of irony matched up with karma.

Rosedale returns into the picture. Rosedale is a static character throughout the story, but he is a character that grows on the reader as he grows on Lily. "She was quite sure that he would come and see her again, and almost sure that, if he did, she could bring him to the point of offering to marry her on the terms she has previously rejected" (Wharton, 240). He cares about Lily's well being and does not believe someone of her standards should be living as the dirt poor live. However, I believe that the experience will open her eyes to people of all classes, and maybe even help to bring the two classes together.

Getting a Little Fishy [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 7&8]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"'I believe you can marry George Dorset tomorrow; but if you don't care for that particular form of retaliation, the only thing to save you from Bertha is to marry somebody else'" (Wharton, 204). Since Lily did not desire that form of retaliation, she went in search for another man: Rosedale. Lily was ready to marry him, but he no longer desired to marry her. Based on what was going on between her and the Dorsets, Lily would be a burden on Rosedale's social status and he believed he could do better now. Rosedale knows about the letters. (I told you, he knows a lot more than we think!) He owns the Benedick, which probably means that he knows that what Lily told him in the very first chapter about seeing her dressmaker was a lie. He also believes the reason Lily will not show the letters is because they are to Selden; maybe he is on to something there.

Loneliness seems to also be a common theme in this section of the book. Lily is lonely, because she does not have a place to stay permanently where she feels she would not be a burden. However, I feel Gerty is the truly alone one. She put all this effort into helping her friend to be left without word from her. She has Selden, her cousin, but if Lily is truly lonely she would be open into being a good friend in return to her friend who has given so much to her.

Symbolism [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 5&6]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

The novel contains characters who tend to care a large majority on social class or status. A new social circle is introduced through the Gormers. This social circle overlaps with people in the Trenor and Dorset social circles, which allows Lily to feel at ease and believe she may be able to rectify her current situation by reacquainting herself with her friends.

Mrs. Dorset is still out to get Lily, and she tries to turn her new friends against her. Furthermore, one could accurately say that Bertha is the antagonist in the story. She is a static character; her personality has not changed at all throughout the story. The only way for Lily to succeed in the story is to find a way to overcome her obstacle, which is Bertha Dorset. She has options of doing so, such as marrying George Dorset, revealing he letters, or marrying someone else. The question is: which option will she choose?

Mrs. Fisher symbols a guide. She helps to reveal paths Lily can take.

Mr. Dorset seems to be a rather confused man. He says he wishes to leave his wife, but he has not; and if Lily did marry Dorset, there is no way Bertha would go down without a fight. The fact he is with her allows the chance for Lily to get burned even more by her ways. I think Dorset represents a temptation, a way to get back at Bertha in the most hurtful way. However, Lily does not seem to want to give into the temptation, as she says she cannot see him again. "'I'm sorry-but you know why I can't'" (Wharton, 200). Lily could not risk remaining George's friend without risking her dignity even more. She could not continue to allow Bertha to win.

Irony Always Strikes [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 3&4]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"Whatever her share in the situation-and he had always honestly tried to resist judging her by her surroundings-however free she might be from any personal connection with it, she would be better out of the way of a possible crash; and since she had appealed to him for help, it was clearly his business to tell her so" (Wharton, 172). Selden wishes Lily to avoid getting into the middle of the Dorset's arguments. Though Lily firmly believed nothing would really happen, she was kicked off the yacht. In Lily's case that would be situational irony, based on the fact that she did not expect something to happen, and something of course did.

Shortly after, she returns home because her aunt had died unexpectedly. Lily was sure she would get a majority of the estate and the money. However, she received only $10,000. On the bright side that was enough to pay back Trenor. On the down side, she was disinherited and had nowhere to go.

Her friend, Gerty, was willing to help her, but Lily did not wish to burden her. Lily wanted to mend her past relationships, specifically with Judy Trenor. By paying off the debt she hoped that would mend the friendship. Worse of all for Lily, she had to face the woman, Grace Stepney, who had received the majority of estate. Lily can find a way to better herself on the money she will have left after paying off the debt. However, her personality leads me to believe that the chances of her searching to find that path are slim.

Well I Take That Back [The House of Mirth Book 2: Chapters 1&2]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Selden is on a cruise with his circle of friends or people he talks to anyway. Learning that Lily was on another ship with the Dorset's (I do not know how she was allowed to go), Selden decides that he would avoid Lily at all costs, so that his feelings do not creep up again. Now someone may ask themself, "Self, why would he avoid her if he loves her?" I would tell everyone the answer, but I am asking the same thing. As I see it, Lily and Selden had absolutely no chance of avoiding each other forever; they are destined to be together. He did in fact see her and believed she had reached an understanding of herself.

Lily decided to go on the trip in order to forget her problems at home. Problem is she will have to go home eventually and face her problems then, so why put it off? (Probably in order to make this book longer and this story all the more intriguing, but one should no run from their problems, they should face them.)

Dorset needed Lily as someone to talk to, but "he wanted her to suffer with him, not to help him to suffer less" (Wharton, 164). But perhaps he was holding on too tight, because Mrs. Dorset was getting rather upset with Lily (I am guessing because of jealousy). This is the second time that I feel people are yelling at Lily for no reason, but I guess if they did not have a reason, they would not be yelling.

I wish my face did not look like this while reading this book.

So Now What? [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapter 15]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Lily discovers the magnitude of how much she owes Trenor, and decides she must tell he aunt of what happened. Lily expected Mrs. Peniston to be understanding and help her, but I can understand why that was not the case. Mrs. Peniston opened her doors to Lily and provided for her, and Lily repays her by wasting her money gambling, borrowing money, and spending more than she has. But if her aunt will not help, who will?

Lily was expecting Selden, though she had planned to blow him off, but instead Rosedale comes to visit Lily. Rosedale is willing to marry Lily, and tells her of all of the wonderful things he could provide her. Most importantly, he could take away her debt. Now, it was no secret that Lily was having financial issues, but I still say Rosedale is up to something. Lily, however, is overwhelmed with the offer, and does not yet make a decision. I do not know why she did not just accept the offer; he cannot be that bad of a guy. (Though I will say marrying simply for money is wrong, and the marriage will never work.)

Lily is asked if she would like to go on a cruise with the Dorset's, but with the amount of debt she is in, there is no way she will go.

It All Seems to Get Confusing From Here [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 13&14]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"Did he really mean to ask her to marry him?" (Wharton, 113) So we left off with Selden telling Lily that he loved her, and supposedly this means he asked her for her hand in marriage. I guess that is how they did it back in the olden days, but that whole situation is rather ridiculous. Selden tries to avoid Lily, now Lily is avoiding Selden; it is all rather dumb. I mean Lily wants to marry, so what is the problem with marrying Selden? (I mean he is the type of guy you root for to win the girl over. For example in the Twilight series, Bella was obviously going to end up with Edward, but Jacob was her perfect match so I had to root for him.)

Then we get this whole insanely creepy situation with Lily going to meet Mrs. Trenor, but she is not even in town. To be honest, I read this part about twenty times and am still not sure what Trenor is freaking out about. He is a married man so he should not have expected anything from Lily, and he offered his help to begin with. He completely freaks Lily out; I would be freaked out too.

Gerty Farish, who is good friends with Lily, decides that she is envious and now despises Lily. Gerty is a very compassionate woman though, and when Lily is in need, she puts her feelings aside and helps her friend. Gerty is good to Lily; she should keep her close.

Rumors Can Destroy [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 11&12]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Literary devices are found everywhere in writing. "But society, amused for a while at playing Cinderella, soon wearied of the hearthside role, and welcomed the Fairy Godmother in the shape of any magician powerful enough to turn the shrunken pumpkin back again into the golden coach" (Wharton, 98). This is an allusion to the story of Cinderella, the author refers to the story as if the reader knows it, though that is not always the case.

Miss Stepney, who was upset with Lily for not allowing her to go to one of the few dinners Mrs. Peniston gave, decided that she needed to tell Lily's caretaker, Mrs. Peniston, of the rumors being said of her neice. Mrs. Peniston is not one for believing rumors, but Miss Stepney seemed to have some evidence that atleast part of the rumors may be true. (Which part of the rumors were true of course, but Mrs. Peniston, I guess, had no idea.) There were a lot of rumors going around about Lily and her relationships with Trenor and Dorset, but rumors can destory the person of whom these things are said. Rumors can ruin ones reputation or destroy their sense of self worth.

Selden is back! Him and his cousin, Gerty Farish, went to see a performance of live art, I guess that is what one would call it. Lily being part of the show is portrayed in a simple gown that would not be considered very appealing, but she was the most beautiful piece of art displayed. I feel that this represents that Lily is truly beautiful within, and she does not need all of the luxuries of the rich to display her true self.

Selden realizes his feelings for Miss Bart and expresses his love to her, but Lily does not express her feelings. Now I guess it is possible that the feelings are not really there which is why she did not express them, but i do not believe that for one second. I do not understand why the two seem to be continually running from their feelings for each other.

Opportunities [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 9&10]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

After Bertha ruining Lily's chances of marrying Gryce, naturally there had to be an opportunity for Lily to get back at Bertha. Mrs. Haffen pops into Lily's house with letters written to Lawrence Selden from Bertha Dorset. The letters are not signed though, so Lily believes that Mrs. Haffen thinks she wrote them. Lily received the letters, but I'm not sure how she would use them to get back at Bertha besides showing them to everyone, but that does not seem like Lily something Lily would do. She seems a person who likes to be considered classy and performing the previous seems tacky.

"'I hear Gus pulled off a nice little pile for you last month'" (Wharton, 92). Rosedale is a man whose name is very large in society; his name paired with Lily's would be beneficial for both in increasing their social standings. Rosedale seems to know a lot more about Lily than she realizes, and a lot about the society in general. Though Lily is not fond of Rosedale, he may keep using him simply for his name. Later, Lily learns that Trenor is getting upset because they have not spent much time together, and he thinks he is avoiding her. There has to be more to that situation than the story at this point portrays, but the possibilities of the direction the story could go are numerous. Rosedale knows too much for his own good, Trenor is getting upset over nothing, and Selden seems to be fading into the background, but he cannot remain there simply because he is supposed to be the one for Lily (in my opinion anyway).

Sabotage & Extra Cash [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 7&8]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Mr. Trenor is introduced as a fellow who is willing to help Lily, and Lily feels it is important to be on good terms with Mr. Trenor, because she wishes to remain close friends with Mrs. Trenor. Mr. Trenor invests Lily's money in the stock market, which in turn caused Lily's receiving of money. In order to continue receiving the money, Lily had to keep Mr. Trenor in good spirits, which appeared easy enough to do according to Lily. However, I thought by investing in the stock market there was also a potential to lose money, so why would Trenor guarantee success. (I suppose at the time the stock market was booming enough that the possibility of losing money was not an actual possibility.)

Bertha Dorset, sabotage extraordinaire, seems to want to even the score between her and Lily by talking to Gryce of Lily's borrowing money. Despite whether or not what Bertha told him was one-hundred percent accurate, Gryce still believed in enough to go back home early from the Bellomont. Shortly after it is discovered that Gryce is engaged. Now that Gryce is no longer an option, will Lily turn to Selden? Is it possible that Bertha will continue to interfere with Lily's friends and turn them against her? I believe the book will lead to someone else who is jealous of Lily to attempt to turn people against her.

Wharton's word choice, also known as diction, allows develop the imagery and represent the time frame of the story. The expressions that Wharton uses, such as the ones that will follow, are uncommon, if ever used, in our language today.

• "'By Jove, Lily you do look a stunner!'" (Wharton, 74)
• "Hang it, if he could find a way out of such difficulties for a professional sponge like Carry Fisher..." (Wharton, 68).
• "Of course it was shocking for a married woman to borrow money-and Lily was expertly aware of the implication involved-but still, it was the mere malum prohibitum which the world decries but condones..." (Wharton, 64).

Who to choose? [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 5&6]

Now that Lily's discovered who she would like to marry, someone else is thrown into the picture. A common theme of any story is that there are two choices the one that seems would be a great fit versus the character that the main character desires. In this case, it is believed that Lily should marry Gryce, he would be a great choice for a husband. However, Selden is the one Lily desires whether she would admit it to herself or not. I find that Lily pushes Selden away though, because she feels she has to marry Gryce. "She admired him (Selden) most of all, perhaps, for being able to convey as distinct a sense of superiority as the richest man she had ever met" (Wharton, 52). It always goes back to the money, does it not? Both men would be a fair choice for her as a husband, but I feel Wharton decided that a book without any love drama is not worth reading, so she added that to the story. (Though I agree, I find the plot common as far as the searching for a husband part of the story is concerned.)

Point of view is important to keep in mind while reading a story. Knowing who is telling the story allows for a reader to more easily follow along. In this case the story is told in the third person omniscient point of view, meaning that the narrator is all-knowing and tells the story while knowing everything about more than one character. The following quotes prove the point of view of the story:

• "That is how she (Lily) looks when she is alone! had been his (Selden's) first thought; and the second was to note in her change which his coming produced" (Wharton, 55).
• "She admired him (Selden) most of all, perhaps, for being able to convey as distinct a sense of superiority as the richest man she had ever met" (Wharton, 52).
• "...poor Mr. Gryce found himself rolling off between four ladies for whose spiritual welfare he felt not the least concern" (Wharton, 42).

Background & Ideas [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 3&4]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

This section begins with a look into the fact that Lily enjoys playing bridge, and she likes to gamble. The problem with the latter is that gambling could lead to some serious financial issues. Then we see times from Lily's past that formed her lifestyle in the present. However, while reading that none of her family members wanted to take her in after her mother died, I did not understand what made Lily such a burden. Mrs. Bart, a minor role in the story, shaped Lily, a major character, into the woman she was. Mrs. Bart was Lily's mother first and foremost, and parents help instill personality traits in their children. Furthermore, Mrs. Bart was a woman who taught her daughter to despise those who "live like pigs," and helped her in her search for a husband who must be rich. "She knew that she hated dinginess as much as her mother had hated it..."(Wharton, 30). I feel this quote explains that her mother did influence Lily into living as she is in the story. Her father, however, did not influence her as much due to his lack of time spent with her and then dying shortly after he had discovered he could no longer provide for his family.

But now we must figure out why Lily would be interested in Percy Gryce. Wharton portrays Lily feeling so certain that Gryce will love her, and be fond of her, and that he would not be able to say no to her: he had to marry her. However, there was absolutely nothing that Gryce did in order to make her feel that the latter was certain to occur. Furthermore, the main interest in Gryce is his money, because he could take Lily out of debt. The whole idea seems unlikely to occur, or likely to turn into a completely horrible situation.

It Has Only Just Begun [The House of Mirth Book 1: Chapters 1&2 ]

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

 As with most stories, Wharton introduces us to some of the characters who are bound to play different roles as the story continues. Miss Lily Bart is introduced to us in the eyes of Lawrence Selden, a long time acquaintance of Lily. We learn more of Lily's character traits through the conversation at Selden's home. Lily appears to be a character who impresses everyone with her beauty, despite her age. I found it to seem like Wharton expressed Lily as being relatively old through the diction she chose, though Lily was simply twenty-nine years of age. Now we she Lily and Selden remain forward and honest with each other throughout their conversations: maybe because they are simply good friends, but I feel something is bound to happen between the two characters. Though it is said by Lily, "' But I don't think you dislike me-and you can't possibly think I want to marry you'" (Wharton, 5). I feel Wharton expects the reader to think that Selden marrying Lily Bart is not a possible occurrence, which be a fabulous reason for that not to be true (but only time will tell).

Two other characters are introduced a little later in the story: Gryce and Rosedale. Now, Rosedale seems to be a wealthy man who only cares about money; therefore, he may play a role in causing Lily to solely have concern for wealth and social status. Gryce, on the other hand, is very shy man. Though Lily seems to believe that he would make a fine husband, he seems to be a character that overall change Lily's actions very little. Based on how the book begins talking about wealth and Lily being interested in marrying Gryce, I would bet that the book will lead to a story about Lily's search to win over Gryce and how it is living with the rich.