Lily's Downward Spiral

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 2, chap III-IV

Though Lily started out as a close companion of Bertha Dorset's, the reader soon sees that Lily is not in a good position for the upcoming course of events.  Selden hints at the danger involving the Dorset's marital situation when he goes to see Lily, " 'I stopped over to see you- to beg of you to leave the yacht.' The eyes she turned on him showed a quick gleam of her former fear. 'To leave-? What do you mean? what has happened?' 'Nothing. But if anything should, why be in the way of it?' " (Wharton, 173)  In spite of Selden's warnings, Lily's determined nature continues to prevail.  She refuses to leave Bertha in her friend's time of need.  This turns out to be a very unfortunate decision as it results in Bertha turning on Lily.  The falling action of the novel was sparked by Bertha Dorset, who publicly and cruelly turned Lily off the yacht under the pretext that Lily was getting to close to her husband.  In this way, Lily served as a sacrifice to preserve the Dorset's marriage, at least temporarily.  Lily did nothing wrong, but when it came to Bertha, "the rashness of her conduct was illogically combined with a cold determination to escape its consequences" (Wharton, 172).  From this social rejection, things only get worse.  Lily eventually returns to America to find her aunt dead, and soon discovers that she has been disinherited in favor of her cousin Grace.  This disgrace leaves Lily with barely enough money to survive; her inheritance alone is just enough to pay of Trenor.  Even in light of these repetitive social blows, Lily remains strong and calm.  She accepts her situation with grace, even in front of her close and comforting friend Gerty.  The falling action of the novel happened fast, and as the plot continues to follow Lily's downward spiral out of the social high life, Lily desperately searches for a solution. What I wonder is, how far will she go?