The House of Mirth: Blog 5

   Well, it's about time! In the next few chapters, Lily has finally experienced an epiphany-kind- of moment as she looks among her self- indulgent friends.  "How different they had seemed to her a few hours ago!  Then they had symbolized what she was gaining, now they stood for what she was giving up" (Wharton, 44).  Although I assume Lily still lacks full appreciation for what she possesses, I believe, because of this moment, she has truly changed.  Miss Bart now recognizes her obsession with riches, and is even taken back by it.  Later, Lily spends a pleasant evening in Bellomont with Lawrence Seldon.  During this time, Mr. Seldon tells Lily of her manipulative actions to achieve wealth, and then introduces her to the idea of personal freedom.  "Freedom.. from everything- from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all material accidents" (Wharton, 54).  I predict that Lily Bart will later make this goal of personal freedom her own.  Due to her eye opening experience and the conversation shared with Mr. Seldon, Lily Bart can be deemed a dynamic character because of her transformed outlook.  Mr. Seldon, because of his differing personality and values, is clearly a foil character.