The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
In Section 5 and 6, Lily finally begins to confront what she had hid in the back of her mind for so long, that her friends are not only superficial and greedy but, as Wharton puts it, "...they were dull in a loud way" (Wharton 44). Now that Lily Bart's perceptions begin to change, she can be classified as a dynamic character. The next morning, Lily made a pivotal decision or rather hesitated to make a pivotal decision and in turn missed mass with Percy. This action marks Lily making a spontaneous move that set herself away from her worries and her means to end those worries, Percy. Having blown off her original engagement with percy, Lily Bart is free to spend her whole afternoon with Selden.
They take a walk to a very peaceful and pretty area out in nature, the area is obviously symbolic of Lily's newfound freedom with Selden which is clearly marked when Wharton writes, "She had a passion for the appropriate and could be keenly sensitive to a scene which was the fitting background of her own sensations" (Wharton 51). During there time outdoors Selden and Lily talk very candidly about their views on their superficial friends. Lily is quite amazed at how Selden is able to look upon the entire scene with such an objective outlook but is quickly angered when she realizes that Selden is partially talking about her own self consciousness. When they get onto the topic of marriage both slightly hint to the fact that they would marry each other and Lily then states, "I shall look hideous in dowdy clothes; but I can trim my own hats" (Wharton 59). This shows that Lily is finally brave enough to imagine a life without her current luxuries but, at the same time, enter the "free Republic" that Selden lives life in.
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