Lily's Strange Addiction: Shopping (well, spending money)
Lily just cannot seem to get a grip on how bad of a financial mess she's made thus far. She, like her mother, desires to keep up appearances. However, she can no longer afford to do so and not solely in a financial sense. Her obsession with spending money on dresses or in a game of bridge damages her social status as well. "Everybody knows she is crazy about bridge. Mrs. Gryce told me herself that it was her gambling that frightened Percy Gryce--it seems he was really taken with her at first. But, of course, among Lily's friends it's quite the custom for girls to play for money" (Wharton, 102) The rumors begin to spread as she digs herself deeper into the hole that she has been desperately trying to crawl her way out of for quite some time now. With Trenor letting everyone know about her fragile financial stance and use of Wall Street, the gossip is sure to fly about town, and in Wharton's
The House of Mirth, it spreads like wildfire. Mrs. Peniston's disdain for Lily presents itself at this time as well as she learns of Lily's taking money from Trenor and Dorset. In my opinion, her aunt takes this as a form of betrayal that deeply offends her. It seems as though her family and friends are soon to turn their backs on her, and she will be left in the cold without a penny in her hand.
Lily just cannot seem to get a grip on how bad of a financial mess she's made thus far. She, like her mother, desires to keep up appearances. However, she can no longer afford to do so and not solely in a financial sense. Her obsession with spending money on dresses or in a game of bridge damages her social status as well. "Everybody knows she is crazy about bridge. Mrs. Gryce told me herself that it was her gambling that frightened Percy Gryce--it seems he was really taken with her at first. But, of course, among Lily's friends it's quite the custom for girls to play for money" (Wharton, 102) The rumors begin to spread as she digs herself deeper into the hole that she has been desperately trying to crawl her way out of for quite some time now. With Trenor letting everyone know about her fragile financial stance and use of Wall Street, the gossip is sure to fly about town, and in Wharton's The House of Mirth, it spreads like wildfire. Mrs. Peniston's disdain for Lily presents itself at this time as well as she learns of Lily's taking money from Trenor and Dorset. In my opinion, her aunt takes this as a form of betrayal that deeply offends her. It seems as though her family and friends are soon to turn their backs on her, and she will be left in the cold without a penny in her hand. 
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