As it Appears

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Chapters 5 & 6

"No; but your taking a walk with me is only another way of making use of your material. You are an artist, and I happen to be the bit of colour you are using today. It's part of your cleverness to be able to produce premeditated effects extemporaneously" (Wharton, page 53)

With the reprise of Mr. Selden came a string of events that seemed to be speaking directly to the character of Miss. Lily Bart. From his appearance at the house where Lily is staying to their walk together in the afternoon, Lily is seemingly taken back by Selden's remarks about her. As a reader, I believe that Wharton used Selden as her voice to the issue she has at hand in terms of Lily. As she is writing the words for Selden, it is almost as if Wharton is speaking instead of the rich young man that Selden is. I understand that he has potential to be a sensible man of money but the views he has of Lily almost appear to be from an opinion of someone who sees the whole situation. With remarks such as "...it's as hard for rich people to get into as the kingdom of heaven" (Wharton, page 55) and "And so it is with your rich people - they may not be thinking of money, but they're breathing it all the while; take them into another element and see how they squirm and gasp!" (Wharton, page 55). As Selden condemns the rich people that Lily surrounds herself with, he is able to see right through the picture Lily painting of herself of a woman who truly fits in with those people. Lily seems to react in a way that she broke down her barrier but she returns to the usual ways of Lily Bart in which Selden cannot reach her. 

On a more random note from this section but dealing with Wharton's writing, Wharton seems to mix up Miss. Bart and Lily quite a bit throughout which makes it quite confusing when reading a passage. She seems to be confusing and jumpy when in thoughts and sometimes it can take time to reconnect to the storyline.