Lily’s financial situation has led
to some new major changes in her lifestyle in this section of Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth. I see this as the
falling action of the novel. Having almost no money to support herself, she is
relying a lot on the support of her dear friend Gerty Farish. Thanks to Carry
Fisher, she was able to spend the summer with some new characters, the Gormers,
in Alaska. Wharton writes, “She knew that Carry Fisher was right: that and
opportune absence might be the first step toward rehabilitation, and that, at
any rate, to linger on in town oit of season was a fatal admission of defeat" (Wharton 191).
One other thing Lily has to think
about is getting married. If she could manage to get married, she could still
save her reputation. The way Carry Fisher puts it, she has two options: George
Dorset or Rosedale. She actually considers marrying Rosedale, though she wants
the marriage to be out of love.
What really makes things
interesting for Lily, though, is when George Dorset comes to Lily asking for
forgiveness. Lily, aware of the danger that being seen with Mr. Dorset proposes,
quickly turns him away, focusing all of her attention on Mr. Rosedale for the
time being.
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