The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton
Lily arrives in Bellomont (all the while i was thinking of the Fresh Prince showing up in Bel Air) and is staying at her friends', the Trenors, household. Apparently everyone that lives there loves to gamble, especially with cards. And, of course, Lily Bart is horrible at bridge at loses a large sum of money. People often lose a lot of money when they gamble, I get it, but the loss started to make Lily go crazy. She stressed over "two little lines near her mouth, faint flaws in the smooth curve of her cheek" (Wharton, 21) and other nonsense before the reader learns of the source of her worries" being poor. The reader then experiences a flashback of Lily's to her childhood, living with her mother and father. Her father is a hardworking, frail aging man who gives money to the wife and is rarely seen with Lily or the family. As life went on, Lily's father loses more money, and her mother seemingly want nothing to do with him, but tries her hardest to make Lily feel safe and happy. Her father dies and Lily's mother dedicates her life to making Lily perfect so that she can have a perfect life in the future. The reader learns that this is why Lily needs money, and is so worried when she loses it. Without money, Lily will die just as her father did. This will most likely be the driving dilemma throughout the story, hopefully Lily Bart makes it out unscathed.
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