The House of Mirth, Book One, Sections XIII and XIV

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Trenor confronting Lily

Having put on an unforgettable performance at the Brys', Lily emerges in section XIII feeling euphoric.  She receives two letters addressed from Lawrence Selden and Mrs. Trenor pleading for her company and thus fueling her euphoria.  These two requests intertwine interestingly in section XIV, but for now, Wharton transports her audience to the Trenor household.  Lily finds her visit disgruntling as Judy Trenor is nowhere to be seen, leaving Lily alone with a somewhat inebriated and extremely frustrated Gus Trenor. Wharton, implemening angry, aggressive diction as she describes Trenor's denunciation of Lily, sets a confrontational, climactic mood for her audience.  In the middle of Trenor's philippic, he sums up his sentiments perfectly through metaphor by saying, "Hang it, the man who pays for the dinner is generally allowed to have a seat at table" (Wharton 118).  Trenor means to express his anger at Lily for taking adavantage of his brokering services, treating him "like an empty purse", ignoring his attempts at sociability, and mocking him in front of other people (Wharton 118).  This outburst, initially disregarded by Lily, provides an impetus for change in the protagonist as it forces her to consciously recognize her manipulations and exploitations of other people as a result of her obsession with wealth and aristocracy.  Wharton helps her audience understand Lily's new self-disgust by alluding to the Furies of the Eumenides and comparing them to the self-loathing sentiments that now pester Lily.  Feeling utterly alone, as Wharton makes clear by repeating the word several times, Lily seeks out Gerty Farish for comfort and advice.

Section XIV shifts points of view and focuses rather on Selden's inner dwellings following the Bry party and leading toward the encounter his letter pleaded for.  Selden, unable to avoid his feelings for Lily any longer, decides that he will be the one to take Lily "beyond the ugliness, the pettiness, the attrition and corrosion of the soul" that her current lifestyle embodies.  To allow the audience to understand Selden's mindset, Wharton incorporates a flashback to Selden's childhood in which he learns contempt for wealth, reverance for frugality, and other significant values from his parents.  Consequently, Selden manifests more clearly as a perfect foil character to Lily, but the two ironically wish to be together.  Nevertheless, giddy with admiration for Lily, Selden visits his cousin Gerty to vent his emotions.  Gerty ends up feeling resentment toward Lily for she secretly wishes to be with Selden, even though they are cousins.  Adding to section XIV's intersting twists, Selden departs from Gerty and ultimately, searching for Lily, witnesses her leaving the Trenor household after Gus' outburst.  With Selden feeling betrayed, the section closes with a bit of situational irony as Lily, the cause of Gerty's loneliness, fulfills both her own and Gerty's need for companionship when she takes solace in Gerty's presence and guidance after the incident at Trenor's.