I believe that in The House of Mirth, Wharton's intention of Mattie Gormer and the rest of her clan was to act as a way to bring Lily Bart back to reality. These minor characters were used in the role of self-realization for Lily. "Miss Bart's arrival had been welcomed with an uncritical friendliness that first irritated her pride and then brought her to a sharp sense of her own situation" (Wharton, pg189). I believe that starting fresh was a good idea with this new group of friends. Lily was able to be liked without their prior thoughts and judgements of her.
These characters allowed Lily to see her true situation and to allow her to regain confidence in herself. Mattie Gormer was extremely nice to Lily and accepted her with no questions asked. All of the group seemed to take in Lily nicely; even Lily herself seemed to grow a much closer bond with these women. I feel like they were all better able to relate to one another.
However. After all of this freshness of making new friends, Lily Bart is still faced with the realization of society. Mrs.Fisher had to lay down the terms to Lily that she needed to marry as soon as possible. Lily wasn't getting any younger and she has made quite a name for herself within the past year during the course of this novel. I still feel that getting married should not be just an act of getting out of rumors or scandals. I believe that a person should marry for love and for no deeper purposes more. By the end of this novel, I bet Lily Bart marries Lawrence Selden.
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