The House of Mirth by
Edith Wharton
“Lily had to heart to lean on”
(Wharton, 121). During this section of the novel, Gus Trenor tricked Lily into
talking to him alone at his house. He was mad at Lily that she had used him to get
money and was becoming increasingly angry, as he believed that she was going to
use more people for her benefit. Lily also learns that Gus did not invest her
money but actually had been giving her checks from his own wealth. Now, she has
a nine thousand dollar debt. She goes to Gerty Farish’s place with the hope of
comfort and peace.
This
situation reminds me of a song by one of my favorite artists: “Give me a sign”
by Breaking Benjamin. The verses of the song convey a sense of hopeless and
despair, what Lily is thinking as she is talking with Gus and as she is leaving
his home. The refrain reminds me of Lily’s frantic thinking of where she could
go to release her anguish. The end of the song, where it repeats, “give me a
sign”, is her epiphany that she should go to Gerty Farish’s for the night. In
the end, Lily found her sign and was able to escape, temporarily, the horrors
of her tragic life.
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