Edith Wharton
The House of Mirth. As with most books assigned for school, I was a little apprehensive when I started reading this one, but I immediately enjoyed the novel, especially Lily Bart. It is evident from nearly the first page that she is the main character in the novel; therefore she will probably be a dynamic character who will evolve in some way throughout the story. As a round character, Lily possesses various characteristics: she is witty, intelligent, sociable, confident, head-strong, forward, and also seems a little haughty towards certain people whom she disapproves of. She seems very daring and outgoing, but also a little flirty and ahead of the times socially. In the first two chapters, Lily displays some of her more dominant traits, her disapproval of the expected compliance with society and her awareness of other' thoughts and feelings. Also evident from the first couple chapters are her relationships with certain men in society, most prominently with Mr. Selden. It seems that they are pretty close and have known each other for a long time. I think that he definitely has feelings for her, but she can never reciprocate them because he is not rich enough for her and she is "horribly poor-- and very expensive" (Wharton pg. 6). With Selden, Lily is looking for a friend who will not judge her and will be honest, but he, I feel, is looking for more than that.
On an unrelated note, I really enjoy Wharton's writing. She wrote many paragraphs and descriptions very well and at certain points, I have stopped and reread passages just because they were so well written and I liked them so much.
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