Chapter fifteen of Edith Wharton’s
The House of Mirth brings two new and
confusing twists into the life of the ever charming Lily Bart, both of which
can have a major impact on the way the remainder of the novel proceeds. First
of all, Simon Rosedale, an incredibly wealthy man disliked by Lily, practically
gives her a proposal for a proposal. That is, he goes into great detail of the
many reasons Lily should marry him. This addition to the book was a surprise to
me, and to even Lily it seems. However, if she would accept his proposal, the
road the novel is taking me on could take an interesting turn. At this point,
it had seemed that Lily was destined for the single life due to her recent
not-so-intelligent decisions and the disappearance of Lawrence Selden, but Mr.
Rosedale could change those odds. Yet, if Lily were to marry him, she would be
living the life of luxury that she wants so terribly, but also the life of
servitude and limitation that she despises ever so much. Towards the end of the
chapter, I believe Lily was going to accept the proposal due to her discovery that
Selden, her true love, has left the country, but then twist number two comes
into play. Lily opens a letter from the deceitful and manipulative Bertha
Dorset to read, “Sailing unexpectedly tomorrow. Will you join us on a cruise in
Mediterranean?” (Wharton, 146). In my opinion, this sounds far better than
marrying Rosedale, but the presence of Bertha Dorset could be a problem. Bertha
is known for disliking Lily because of her relationship with Selden, so an
invitation to cruise with her could be problematic for Lily. Bertha had
tormented and spread rumors about Lily before, and a cruise with her would just
open up more opportunities for Lily’s downfall. At this point, caught between
marriage to Rosedale and impending danger aboard a cruise with Bertha Dorset,
it seems as though Lily is in quite a pickle.
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