The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapters 1-2

As I began reading The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I began to understand some of the traits of a few characters. Wharton starts out talking about Mr. Selden. He seems to have almost a crush on Miss Lily Bart who is being portrayed as an extremely beautiful woman. I was confused when at the bottom of the first page through the top of the second page it says, "Was it really eleven years? Selden found himself wondering, and had she indeed reached the nine-and-twentieth birthday with which her rivals credited her?"(Wharton, pg1-2). This made me wonder if Selden had had previous relations with Miss Bart years before, maybe even eleven years since he had seen her. 

This story seems to take place in a more simple time in New York. I've concluded that this is a time when women have less rights and less say. Lily Bart expresses her grief in this aspect of society when she says, " 'How delicious to have a place like this all to one's self! What a miserable thing it is to be a woman!' She leaned back in a luxury of discontent" (Wharton, pg4).

Mr. Rosedale is another character portrayed well in the beginning of this novel. I viewed him as  a sneaky, big-mouth who feels obligated to pass on gossip to any and all who will hear it. I wonder if his encounter with Lily Bart and her lie will become a problem and conflict for Lily Bart later on in the story.

I found a few examples of figurative language. I found a simile, "...his ingenuous face looking as though it had been dipped in crimson..." (Wharton, pg 13). I also found a metaphor, "He had a mental palate which would never learn to distinguish between railway tea and nectar" (Wharton, pg 14).