Saturday, July 7, 2012

The House Book 2: 11 and 12

After being fired from her job at Regina's, I began to loosen up my annoyance on Lily and what I perceived as an unchanging attitude.  Wharton wants the readers to know something so we might feel a little pity for Lily: she's trying. "She had been fashioned to adorn and delight"(Wharton 245). To be honest, I feel like this also is one of the underlying issues in this novel.  It is not solely her fault for all of these issues that she is in. To be frank and to agree with what Mr. Rosedale says, she is not supposed to work or handle money.  That just is not her and when she has to, she is obviously in trouble.  And as chapter eleven of Whartons’ The House of Mirth concludes we see that Lily feels like she has a definite plan on what to do!  However, like everything else, I believe her underlying longing for Selden prevents her from carrying out the blackmail that her plan required.  
"...and two tears gathered and fell slowly from her eyes"(Wharton,249).  Based on her previously admitting that she does not cry, Selden coming to see her and give her advice meant a great deal to her. This is obviously a big part in the story line because we actually are able to see Lily genuinely apologize and thank someone in their most sincere form. And then BANG! What I was predicting the entire time! From what I read, it seems that Lily longs to love Selden and that because of her faults and failings, they cannot be together! This is arguably the biggest part in the novel and in the end, we see Lily's new direction is a complete mystery by how she burns the letters.

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