The House of Mirth: Blog 11
Edith Wharton

     About a third of the way through the second book, I read something that truly got me thinking. While speaking of all the plans other members of society had for themselves, Wharton says "...Lily herself remained without plan or purpose" (Wharton, 190). Even though it seems Wharton is really only discussing where Lily will reside and how she will handle her financial troubles, I feel this quote really sums up Lily's current situation. It isn't that I feel Lily has absolutely no purpose in life; everyone has something to put forth. However, Lily does not know her purpose. She has no plans when it comes to marriage, where she will live, her finances, her friendships. Nothing is mapped out for her. I also feel she also does not have any set destination in life. Throughout the entire book, Lily hasn't had a real plan for anything. And, after 200 pages, she still has nothing. I thought that at this point in the book there would be some sort of new adventure, such as getting married or solving her finance problems. But things are still the same. Over the course of the novel she has lived spontaneously, going from friendship to friendship, one crazy idea to the next. She has been from not wanting to get married to wanting just the opposite, and back and forth a hundred times. I honestly respect Lily for this. I love the spontaneity of her life. She seems to pick up and go places, such as Europe or Alaska, with no thoughts of what she should be doing or what could happen while she is gone. I love that she has nothing tying her down to New York. While I'm only sixteen and honestly have no idea of what will become of my future, I hope that, maybe just for a few years, it is somewhat like Lily's. Even though I know it could never happen, the idea of not having any obligations amazes me. To be able to do whatever I want at any given moment sounds absolutely thrilling.
     After re-reading those past few sentences, they sound like such a sixteen-year-old thing to say. But, if the shoe fits...

     Lily's pick-up-and-go attitude relates a lot to my life. Just yesterday, my dad was saying that after this school year we should move to Carmel, Indiana. He said this because after I graduate, we will have nothing keeping us on the south side. My dad, also a very spontaneous man, loves the idea of having a new adventure, even if that means only an hour from our current abode. I, personally, am ecstatic about the idea.