Mirth Book 1 Part XV

As book 1 draws to a close in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily is in a world of problems. She believes the only solution is to repay her debt to Trenor. At least so far in this story, this is a good sign that Lily still has some dignity, but she still did not have the foresight to think that this was inevitable. Mrs. Peniston refuses to help out Lily, Gerty despises Lily although she still helped her, and Selden took off to Havana. Lily is pretty much on her own to resolve this problem. Mrs. Peniston seems like she is not in the best state of health. She complains of her nerves, and she went to bed early one night because she was not feeling well, "Lily remained at home, lunching and dining alone with her aunt, who complained of flutterings of the heart...(145)." I am thinking something is seriously going on with her health. In a sad circumstance, Mrs. Peniston may pass away later in the novel and Lily's financial problems are resolved so that she can live happily with Selden, or there is a twist of irony in the end where Lily marries someone wealthy like Mr. Rosedale, but she becomes wealthy anyways with Peniston's death. Mr. Rosedale is a sneaky man who has played his cards right with coming to Lily at the apex of her vulnerability. Rosedale said all the right things to get in her head and make her seriously consider marrying him, but let's hope not.