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.

Mirth Book 1 Parts XIII and XIV

Now, things are getting interesting in The House of Mirth. I am going to be completely honest, this is the only part of the book so far that I have legitimately wanted to know what would happen next. Lily's problem with Gus Trenor is getting more extreme. I hope it does not get much more extreme though because....well that could lead to rape, and no one wants to read about that.

Selden's feelings for Lily are finally starting to be shown to others. When Gerty discovers this, she becomes very jealous of Lily for some reason. Wharton writes, "But on her bed sleep would not come, and she lay face to face with the fact that she hated Lily Bart (132)." Is Gerty seriously in love with Selden?

I sure hope not since their cousins. I am hoping this is some sort of jealousy because Gerty feels like she will not see Selden as often. I am sure something complicated happens once Lily and Selden have their meeting the next day.

Mirth Book 1 Parts XI and XII

As the stock market gets complicated, so does the story of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. People are critical of Lily's relationship with Gus Trenor which makes sense because everybody knows of Lily's search for a wealthy husband which makes this look like a scandal waiting to happen. Mrs. Peniston did not take it very well that her niece would be flirting with a married man. Also, Grace Stepney got her chance to make Lily look bad: "...hatred over Lily prevailed over more personal considerations (101)." Mrs. Peniston seems like a nervous wreck right now, so I am not sure if something bad will happen to her or not because she just seems like a character that something bad will happen to.

For some reason, Lily can't seem to stay out of trouble. I do not know what she was expecting to accomplish with her visit to Bellomont. Gus Trenor is grumpy with her, and of course there is her situation with Selden. Their meeting in the garden reveals that Selden is still in love with her which of course complicates things. In the words of the great Jay-Z, she's got 99 problems.

Mirth Book 1 Parts IX and X

Here, we find ourselves nearly a hundred pages into Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, and Lily Bart's "problems" are just beginning. I find it odd that Lily looks down upon maids when Lily does not have much more than they do. The only difference between Lily and the maids is that Lily has rich friends and they do not. I am going to be honest, I have no clue as to why Lily even got those letters from Mrs. Haffen only not to read them.  I seriously want to know what those letters say because it might help me understand whatever is going on with Selden and Evie van Osburgh. Oh, and if getting black mailed by a poor woman wasn't enough, how about getting black mailed by a fat, rich man who is your best friend's husband? Yes, I think that would be pretty bad.

Now, Trenor is upset with Lily because he knows she pretty much took advantage of him. Trenor would love the company of a beautiful woman (who wouldn't?), so he pressures Lily into visiting him: "I'll be there sharp, remember, you won't go back on me, Lily---(96)?" My guess is something bad happens at this visit probably because Lily will not show up. Lily better get her act together, that's all I have to say.

Mirth Book 1 Parts VII and VIII

I'm not finding much mirth as I continue reading The House of Mirth. I am honestly confused by the character of Percy Gryce that Edith Wharton is developing. He pretty much ran away from Bellomont afraid of Lily's personality, yet at the end of Part VIII we find out that he is getting married to Evie Van Osburgh. This seems like a very bold move for a man who is supposed to be shy and reclusive. I feel like I should probably read more before I say much more because there is most likely some good explanation that I am lacking the insight to see.

However, Lily seems like she's digging herself into another hole. With her new friendship with Mr. Trenor, Lily has acquired a new method of income with Trenor's experience in the stock market. Of course, Trenor wants some sort of repayment; now, Lily finds herself trying to please Trenor's personal interest of gaining favor with Mr. Rosedale. Yet again, Lily and Selden are torn apart. Clearly, there is some cosmic force at work here trying not to let them be together, or not. Well at least it is clear that Lily likes Selden except for his lack of money, and Selden is crazy about Lily. That's at least something to smile about.

Mirth Book 1 Parts V and VI

Continuing on in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, we see Lily is attempting to make her strategic move on Percy Gryce. Lily is really going out of her way to impress Gryce. She does things out of her nature such as giving up smoking or waking up early to prepare for Sunday Church service. In an event possibly due to fate, Lily misses the omnibus to Church and she begins to walk. She rests under a tree and Selden catches up with her. This meeting is more of like a prologue to their meeting later that day in which Selden expresses his reason for being at Bellomont. Additionally, Lily even admits she has an interest in Selden, but Selden lacks the wealth she desires of her husband, yet Lily even admits to the possibility, "'I shall look hideous in dowdy clothes; but i can trim my own hats'" (59).

Now that we know for certain that Lily likes Selden, the problem becomes who she will choose. In part V, the word mirth appears which of course I naturally decided to look up the definition. Meaning jollity accompanied by laughter, the title The House of Mirth may help us figure out what happens. Considering Gryce does not seem like he is full of much mirth, I think Lily spends most of her time with Selden and seriously considers marrying Selden.

Mirth Book 1 Parts III and IV

As the story of The House of Mirth and the party at Bellomont progressed, I started to get an insight into Lily's background and motives. Lily is well aware of how a dull a person Percy Gryce can be, yet she still has a serious interest in him because of his wealth. Such interest is shown when Wharton writes, "...but she could not ignore him on the morrow, she must follow up her success, must submit to more boredom (19)." Similar to how Lily's mother only saw her husband as someone to provide money for her and Lily, Lily is only interested in Gryce because he could easily supply money for Lily to live her ideal lifestyle.

At the party, Lily became absorbed in a game of bridge in which she lost a sizable amount of money. This simply happened because of Lily's obsession with wealth and money which led to her fascinating at the idea of gaining more by winning a game. Speaking of games, the word "calculations" has appeared several times already in the story. The use of this word makes it seem to me like Lily sees her situation as a sort of like a game. She thinks all she needs to do is to properly calculate the correct solution to her predicament. However, I feel like her method may change with the reappearance of Selden in the story. I think truly that Lily could fall in love with Selden. Eventually, Lily will have to choose between Selden and love or Gryce and money.