Well That's Ironic

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 2, chap I-II

This section seems to me to be full of irony.  Primarily involving Lily and Selden.  First off, Selden went on this long trip across the sea mostly to detach himself from Lily; he wants to rid himself of any romantic feelings he has for her.  Mrs. Fisher, his companion, is not aware of his motives; she speaks frequently and at much length about Lily and her actions concerning men and romance.  Lily is on a cruise with the Dorset's and Selden never expected them to run into each other.  Unfortunately for him, when he was on the train on the way to Nice, a hurried group enters into the train, and Miss Bart is among them.  "...he could not hope to  preserve his privacy; the next moment there was a hand on the door, and he turned to confront the very face he was fleeing" (Wharton, 154).  Wharton uses irony as a twist in the story and to show that Selden could never really fully escape form Lily and the feelings he has for her.
Another ironic item is the primary reason the Lily was even invited in the Dorset's cruise.  As Mrs. Fisher words it, "We all know that's what Bertha brought her abroad for. When Bertha wants to have a good time she has to provide occupation for George" (Wharton, 152).  In essence, Bertha Dorset brought Lily to entertain George Dorset, her husband, so that Bertha can have fun with the young Ned Silverton.  Bertha brought a beautiful young woman to distract her older husband so that she can cheat on him with a handsome young man.  Or at least, that is what I am gleaning from the relationship.  At the end of chapter II, Lily is having a discussion with  Bertha about how they managed to get separated the night before- Lily and George separated from Bertha and Ned.  Lily seems to believe as I do- that Bertha and Ned were having fun together up until Bertha returned to the ship, which was not until early the next morning.  Bertha, on the other hand, blames Lily for the separation and scolds her for always running off and not waiting for her.  I think Bertha is just trying to turn the tables on Lily to cover up her own indiscretions.

Something I found was quite amusing was that in the middle of page 153, Selden uses a phrase that I have come to know through Family Guy.  Apparently "What the deuce?" came from the 1900's.  Who knew?