Empathy Maybe?

While reading the next few chapters of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I learn more details about the people in Lily's life. I am introduced to her aunt, Mrs. Peniston in this chapter. As far as the aunt's importance in the novel, I am unsure of at the moment. As Lily is greeted by her aunt in the novel, her aunt starts off speaking at great lengths which does not allow for Lily to get a word in edgewise. Also, another character that I took note of was Mrs. Farrish. I believe that Mrs. Farrish will prove to be an inconsequential. However, for this portion of the chapter, she plays a somewhat important role. As Lily sees Mrs. Farrish using her wealth to help charities, Lily starts to think of herself on the same level as the girls who would benefit from such charities. "She pictured herself leading such a life as theirs- a life in which achievement seemed as squalid as failure-and the vision made her shudder sympathetically" (Wharton, 90). Since Lily notices her once financially stable lifestyle crumbling beneath her, she starts to empathize with women in similar situations. As a result, Mrs. Farrish's role in the novel was short-lived yet monumental.