Unanticipated Outcomes

The next few chapters of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton were filled with unanticipated happenings. Lily adamantly states her intentions with Rosedale. She did this because she did not want to delay possible marriage arrangments any longer. However, she was appauled when Rosedale has said he had no intentions of marrying her. "My dear Miss Lily, I'm sorry if there's been any little misapprehendsion between us- but you made me feel my suit was so hopeless that I had really no intention of renwing it" (Wharton, 206). Rosedale is still madly in love with Lily, but given the recent happenings in Lily's life, he cannot be too closely associated with her. He does not want to commit to Lily in the form of marriage. If Lily's disgraceful actions had not been made public among her social circle, she would have had no issues luring Rosedale into a marriage. The fact that Rosedale does not want to marry her will only cause for more socially accepted men to follow suit. Though men are still deeply infatuated with Lily and her beauty, she is becoming less desirable in a social sense.