The House of Mirth: Book 2, Chapters 9 and 10

After reading chapters nine and ten of Edith Wharton’s novel, The House of Mirth, I was touched to realize I had to alter that my previous perception of one of the book’s characters, Simon Rosedale. At the commencement of the novel, I quite honestly hated Rosedale because of his blackmailing of Lily Bart. It angered me that he would be that horrible, and as the book progressed, he did not seem to be changing. At one point, Rosedale even proposed to Lily simply because she would make a pretty wife in society, even bribing her with thoughts of new dresses and sparkling jewels. However, when Lily falls apart towards the end of the book, Rosedale surprised me with his realization that “the dark pencilling of fatigue under her eyes, the morbid blue pallour of the temples, brought out the brightness of her hair and lips, as though all her ebbing vitality were centered there,” (Wharton, 235).

I truly found it adorable that the time Rosedale found Lily most beautiful when she showed the telltale signs of exhaustion and having worked all day. I comprehended that at this point, he had changed from his ambitious past self. He was genuinely concerned for Lily’s well-being, and he actually was in love with her. It was sad to discover that Lily still was not looking for marriage, but Rosedale’s new personality made me happier to discover that if Lily were to decide to marry him, she would not be a trophy wife, rather she would be loved and cared for. Rosedale’s progression over time to a better person came as a surprise, yet it was a pleasant one at that and it redeemed his reputation with me, and even with, I personally believe, Miss Lily Bart.