The opening of book two confused me: it described Selden enjoying the beautiful environment at Monte Carlo in Europe, when in the conclusion to book one, Selden was said to have been "among the passengers sailing . . . for Havana and the West Indies" (Wharton 145). How did Selden arrive in Europe, in conveniently close proximity to Lily Bart? Perhaps Wharton will provide a bit of exposition later on, but for the rest of section I, she explains Selden's stream of consciousness as he reacts to unexpectedly encountering Lily's circle of acquaintances and eventually Lily herself. As Lily's associates discuss her social success in Europe after spotting her approaching on the Dorsets' boat the Sabrina, Selden's resentment toward Lily for the Trenor incident resurfaced, but Selden was "surprised by the disturbance which the sight of the Sabrina had produced in him" (Wharton 150). Selden had thought himself, like I have falsely believed of myself at times, in complete control of his emotions because of the logical, analytical manner of personal detachment that he viewed his feelings with. As such, I felt connected to Selden throughout the section, relating to his feeling betrayed and resenting Lily. The song "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)" by the Plain White T's struck me as expressive of Selden's true sentiments toward Lily. Selden dislikes Lily intensely for what he perceived as betrayal at Trenor's, but he knows that deep inside she "despises the things [wealth, luxury] that she's trying for" and admires her for that (Wharton 152). Section I really focuses on this intense internal conflict within Selden as he wanders around, struggling to resolve his opposing views of Lily. As Selden wanders, he witness Mrs. Dorset and Ned Silverton enter a cab together, late at night, which drives the plot forward by introducing a new interesting scandal that will affect the object of Selden's contemplation more than she could imagine.
In section II, George Dorset seeks Lily's comfort after learning of his wife's night out with Mr. Silverton. Lily, due to her steadfast sense of morality, feels horrible for having inadvertently played a role in ruining his marriage by distracting him from Bertha for so long. However, as Lily observes how emotionally invested in her George has become, she realizes Bertha's true intentions when she revitalized their friendship long ago. Having spent so much time with George, Lily can now be made out to have stolen Bertha's husband, or to at least have contributed to the separation while Bertha enjoys her courtship with young Ned free of repercussions. Thus, the revelation of "wretched Bertha's" real motivation provides rising action to the plot and reinvigorates the external conflict between Bertha and Lily (Wharton 166). The section closes with Lily accusing Bertha of scandal and Bertha alleging that Lily aimed to steal her husband. Lily weathers the allegations, departs, and leaves on open-ended dilemma for section III to resolve.
In the music video for "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)", pandemonium, representative of Selden's conflicting inner emotions, surrounds the lead singer. Furthermore, at the end of the video, the woman that the singer hates, representing Lily, shows an ignorance of why she is hated, just as Lily doesn't know the source of Selden's recent disgust with her.
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