Chapters 7-8

Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth shows all the strategic inner-workings of the manipulative and scheming women of the time.  Lily and the women she's surrounded by in these particular chapters remind me of older, better-dressed, and slightly more well-mannered versions of high school girls today.  All they do is gossip and plot how to elevate their social status; it'd be exhausting to constantly obsess over such petty concepts. 

I can somewhat relate to Lily when it comes to always having to be conscious of what one says, who is listening when she says it, and who could possibly take offense to it.  One sentence used by Mrs. Trenor to describe the women of their party holds true to young women of today.  She accurately states that "they hold their tongues...and you think you're safe, but when their opportunity comes they remember everything" (Wharton, 61).  There are few things more dangerous than an angry and capable woman who has been wronged by one of her peers.  Maybe it was Bertha's bad-mouthing of Lily that ultimately drove Percy Gryce to get engaged to another? 

I also predict that Lily's choice to trust her money to Mr. Trenor will come back to haunt her with possibly more debt in the near future.  I don't know much about Mr. Rosedale, but he seems like he could be just as dangerous as a begrudged woman.