The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton
Chapters IX & X, pages 79-97
Another man in Lily's life? And finally some money? Well, at least things are turning around for her. Wharton also brings the motif of the money back to the forefront of the plot. As Lily continues to have her financial success in the stock market, she begins to experience more freedom and a lack of responsibilities. However, that same money also seems to give Mr. Trenor a sense of entitlement to Lily. After all the help that she had received from him, Trenor begins to feel used and even rejected at the statement that Lily is still contemplating a marriage to Percy Gryce. "She smiled as she spoke, letting her eyes rest on his in a way that...made him suddenly malleable to her will," (Wharton, 96).
The closing of this section seems to foreshadow a certain form of revenge to be enacted on Bertha Dorset with the letters bought off Mrs. Haffen. I now can look forward to reading the book because the story line continues to add to the overall drama and deceit of the unfolding action.
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