The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton
Lily is staying with the Trenors while in Bellomont, and she wants to be a good house guest while there. So, like most women, her and Judy Trenor spend most of this section gossiping. The spicy girl talk is mostly about the party that went down the previous night, and how the women at the event experienced it. We learn that Bertha Dorset is interested in Mr Selden, and that Lily Bart apparently is interested in that Percy Gryce fellow. It seems like she is keeping her interests with Gryce and Selden, but nothing is perfectly clear at this point. I think she wants to marry Gryce out of her fear of being poor, when Wharton writes "if she did not marry Percy Gryce, the day might come when she would have to be civil to such men as Rosedale" (Wharton, 45), suggests that. Later Lily notices Bertha Dorset and Selden talking in the library, and is genuinely worried that Selden is entirely invested in Ms Dorset. Lily Bart really does want every man in New York! Luckily for her, Lily gets to spend some one on one time with Selden and begins to want to be like Selden. As a woman, Lily spends most of her time strengthening her social connections while Selden is aloof and still successful. The section closes with them walking together and talking.
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