The House of Mirth: Poor Lily

I am beginning to feel very bad for Lily.  It seems that she is realizing how much use desires freedom and much she dislikes the stereotypes and pressures she feels from society.  While conversing with Seldon, she also realizes how much she likes him, although she's not quite sure why.  Both Seldon and Lily vaguely address the prospect of marrying one another and when Lily claims that he has nothing to offer her, Seldon admits that,  "If I had, it should be yours, you know," (Wharton, 57).  I feel quite bad for both of them because theres not a lot to be done about the situation unless Lily snapped out of her perfect world and decided to live a simpler life with Seldon.  This whole situation reminds me a lot of the Disney movie Aladdin in which the Princess Jasmine is being forced by her father, the Sultan, to marry a snobby rich prince simply because it is custom for the princess to marry a prince.  She admires Aladdin when she meets him because , although he is impersonating a prince as well, she can tell that he is different than the other men.  He is genuine.  However, when Aladdin's true identity is revealed, a dilemma arises  because his genuine character and love for the princess don't matter, like Seldon's affection for Lily and the fact that they get along so well do not matter much to her in her situation, because he is not rich and not a prince, and Seldon is not rich and not truly among the top of the socialites. Because Aladdin is a Disney movie, all is well in the end and the Princess and Aladdin override what had been custom for probably centuries with their overpowering love.  Sadly, Edith Wharton's the House of Mirth is not an animated fictional love story, so I am interested to see what direction Seldon and Lily will take.