The House of Mirth: Blackmail

BLACKMAIL

Congrats Edith Wharton, you've done it again.  It seems that Wharton's style can be summed up very nicely into a single phrase: roller coaster.  At every calm moment of The House of Mirth, Wharton spikes up the action with another drastic turn of events.  One minute Lily is having a nice conversation with her aunt, and then a fees pages later, she is being blackmailed.  I also thought it was very creative how Wharton introduced the reader to the charwomen, Mrs. Haffen, several times before revealing her role in the novel.  In hindsight, I probably should have suspected that the women might play a larger role in the plot because of the odd way she seemed to act and just the fact that Wharton put any emphasis on what appeared to be a very static character.  Lily's situation can really go nowhere but up at this point.  Her top marriage candidate is now engaged, leaving her again the beautiful but lonely twenty-nine-year-old single woman; she is still amidst improving, yet still problematic, financial difficulty; and now she is being blackmailed with letters that she did not write.  I admire her decision to buy the letters to protect her friend Seldon despite the fact that "She felt herself in the presence of something vile, as yet but dimly conjectured," (Wharton, 84).   It is impressive that though she seems very shallow, she is able to hold on to her sense of morals in the midst of her dire circumstance. I wonder what she will end up doing with the letters.  I know that she originally had no harmful intentions in mind when she bought the letters, and intended to destroy them in fact.  However, her aunt unintentionally reminded her of the horrid Mrs. Dorset and fueled her anger.  I honestly don't know what I would do if i were in her situation.  It seems a fairly good idea to follow Mrs. Haffen's example and blackmail Mrs. Dorset with the letters, although there is not much personal gain, outside possible financial assets, that Lily could gain from this.  Unfortunately, the damage has been done. Mrs. Dorset's role in the engagement of Gryse and Evie is irreversible.  I don't understand how Mrs. Dorset holds such a high place in society either when it is almost common knowledge of her affections for Seldon.  Doesn't her husband know? Why doesn't he do something about it? Regardless, hopefully Lily doesn't do anything foolish with the letters.