This section of Edith Wharton's House of Mirth may as well be titled, Let's Start Over Again. New job, new place to live, new reputation. Our main character finally did make some life changes, but are they the right ones? Working as an assistant to a new character, Mrs. Hatch, Lily finally has a real job that includes living in a hotel! However, Mrs. Hatch is not exactly the most reputable person in New York, so when that doesn't work out, she is left to live at Gerty's flat for the time being. But she is sick of being a "moocher"-to put it in modern terms- off of her friends, so she goes to work at a hat shop.
Meeting Rosedale sort of gives me a sense of how serious Lily's situation is. He and Lily have a pleasant discussion, but he has such a difficult time believing that she is actually in the working class. The place that she's currently residing symbolizes this as well- Lily Bart: member of New York's Working Class. It seems as though she is living the life of "dinginess" that her mother warned her about.
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