The House of Mirth by
Edith Wharton
“Then she
heard her own name—‘for my niece Lily Bart ten thousand dollars—‘ ” (Wharton,
180). Mrs. Peniston, Lily’s assumed guardian when her parents died, recently
passed away. The lawyer was reading the will and to everyone’s surprise, Lily
was disowned. This is where I am confused: Why had Mrs. Peniston decided to
disown Lily? I understand that Mrs. Peniston was willing to pay some of Lily’s
debts. I know that Mrs. Peniston wanted Lily to be responsible for her gambling
debts. I believe that the previous reasoning does not merit Mrs. Peniston’s
disowning of Lily. Furthermore, Mrs. Peniston led everyone to believe that Lily
would inherit the estate. Everyone understood that Lily was going to be
responsible for the house once the attorney’s office released Lily’s legacy. In
addition, many people believed that Mrs. Peniston wanted to help Lily out of
her situation. I believe that if Mrs. Peniston really disowned Lily based on
rumors and gambling debts, then her judgment was wrong and Lily should have
received the estate.
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