Finally getting to Lily and her internal struggle, chapters four and five of Edith Wharton's House of Mirth are mostly about showing the reader how Lily's head and heart are beginning to clash. The first thing she did was break off her plans with Mr. Gryce and made up the excuse that she was feeling ill. Though she may have believed that money and wealth were everything, after talking and spending an entire day with Seldon, she may have to rethink that. I mean in a simple afternoon that began with an innocent walk, they managed to fall in love and practically get engaged! Except Lily can't shake the thought of her other motives out of her head quite yet. Readers can see this when Lily declares, "'But isn't it possible that, if I had the opportunities of these people, I might make better use of them?'" (Wharton 57).
Throughout these chapters, Wharton has revealed some of the themes of the novel. The main one would be materialism and the belief that money is all a person really needs. Lily is still trying to decide for herself if she would allow that to be true for her, and from the looks of her entire day spent with Seldon, she still has a lot to figure out.
As a main character, Seldon really takes a huge role in these last couple chapters. He is the influence that is teaching her that money doesn't mean happiness. Mr. Gryce and Seldon represent the two choices that Lily has at the moment. A relationship with Mr. Gryce means wealth and an upperclass lifestyle, while Seldon would mean the opportunity to marry for love. As the decisions finally begin to unfold for Lily, we will be able to see the path our protagonist with take.
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