The Great Incongruity: Pages 37-48 (The Great Gatsby)

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

"And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before" (Fitzgerald, 39).

Nick's generalization about Gatsby's parties presents several incongruities in 20s society: the rich have a dream of building something but the poor end up building it and the decorum at high-class events is typical of lower-class debauchery.

Gatsby intends these parties to be displays of wealth in order to keep him relevant in upper society.  In fact, Nick describes the parties as so constant that the reader wonders if Gatsby does anything but plan parties.  This leads us to the first incongruity; Gatsy spends the majority of his time trying to prove his financial status which he spends very little effort to earn.  Moreover, even though Gatsby seems to hold these parties to prove something to everyone about himself, he does very little during the parties.  As seen in the above quote, the unknown butlers and servants carry out all of the preparations and give grandeur to the parties.  At this point, most would think that I would point out that the incongruity is that the credit goes to Gatsby instead of the butlers; however, the incongruity is much deeper.  Most of the guests don't even see Gatsby at the parties.  This incongruity serves to support Fitzgerald's view that the society of the 20s was less of a society and more of a collection of egotistical usurpers.


Oh, Allie Brosh, why hast thou forsaken me?


 Another point of incongruity in this passage is the behavior of the guests at Gatsby's parties.  The vast majority of the guests at Gatsby's parties are extremely wealthy (granted, most of them could only attend because they knew someone who was invited (they didn't earn this party or their wealth, perhaps?))  As seen in The House of Mirth, parties hosted by the extremely wealthy tended (and still tend today) to be filled with classy and quiet entertainment.  However, Gatsby's parties are filled with drunks and loud women.  In fact, the parties might as well be held in the back hills of Kentucky.  This incongruity between class and behavior reminds the reader that wealth is not necessarily a good indicator of class.

Oh the Places You'll Go. The Adultery Edition: Pages 25-36 (The Great Gatsby)

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

In this disgusting display of infidelity section of the novel, the setting provides ample symbolism and parallels that hint at Fitzgerald's themes.  Since I focused on time in the last novel, I'll focus on place now: specifically, the automobile shop and Myrtle's apartment in New York.

It seemed only fitting that Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, should be introduced to the reader in a run-down, ash-filled auto shop.  Nick describes the area as almost built entirely on ash.  Myrtle and her husband George live modestly (if modestly is an accurate reflection) above the auto shop where George works.  Myrtle's surroundings seem to parallel her position in life.  The ever-present ashes make the area seem like a disaster zone.  It is as if Myrtle's privileged life came crashing down after she married George and she is hoping to rise again like a phoenix with Tom's worthy companionship.  However, the reader later can see that the ash symbolizes Myrtle's deception of her husband as she tries to find her way back into high society. As Myrtle and Tom get rid of George in order to plan their next get together, Nick notes that, "A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity-except his wife, who moved close to Tom" (Fitzgerald, 26).  The ash and run down setting of Myrtle's life are not indicators of George's shortcomings that drag her down, but of Myrtle's and Tom's obfuscations and infidelities that will crush her husband who has given her everything he could.

Another setting that seems to reflect the overall rancor of the affair of Tom and Myrtle is Myrtle's apartment in New York.  While the setting of her home above the auto shop is a dismal scene filled with destitution and ash, her apartment in New York is a scene of class, fashion, and sociability.  However, to Nick's observant eye, the apartment seems to parallel her real drawbacks.  Even though the apartment is fairly small, it is almost filled with furniture.  Moreover, Nick notes that the one painting is distorted based on perspective; it either presents a hen or an old lady.  Like the apartment, Myrtle has very little to offer.  However, she still tries to convince everyone in the upper classes that she is not lost to the world of ash by piling on the pretentiousness with her undermining compliments and suffocating everyone around.  In addition, like the painting, she can be viewed in different ways from different perspectives; some view her as a victim of a poor decision of husband while others view her as a home-wrecker.

I couldn't think of a GIF that fits into this section so here's the Dalai Lama:

Take that, adulterers!

Leave us alone, Edith Wharton!: Pages 13-24 (The Great Gatsby)

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

In this section of the novel, I started to notice some similarities to our first novel, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.  Mr. Costello assigned two similar novels.  Who would have guessed?

Three aspects in particular stood out: Tom's racism, the quip about Nick's "engagement", and Tom's affair.

First on the block is Tom's racism.  For some reason, Tom finds it necessary to bring up the "peril" of the Anglo-Saxon race, his knowledge of which his wife ironically dubs "profound". This prejudice, widely believed to result from societal insecurity (many poor whites throughout history have clung to racism to create a bond with the rich whites), parallels prejudices common throughout The House of Mirth.  Just as Tom devoted more energy to assert his superiority as an Anglo-Saxon, the antagonists in The House of Mirth created a superior and exclusive society by holding prejudices against Lily's "promiscuous" behavior.

Typical defenders of the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon civilization.


Another point of similarity between the two stories is the topic of marriage.  After Tom and Daisy point out that they heard that Nick was engaged, Nick objected by noting, "... and on the other hand I had no intention of being rumored into marriage" (Fitzgerald, 19).  Just as in the time frame of The House of Mirth, during the 20s, marriage was viewed among the wealthy as a sign of class.  In both stories, the reader witnesses immense pressure from the expectation to retain class through marriage.  In The House of Mirth, that pressure had fatal ramifications; one can only hope this novel will end more optimistically.

In addition to marriage, the shortcomings of marriage also appear in both The Great Gatsby and The House of Mirth.  Almost right after my first section of reading ended, Miss Baker reveals that Tom is having an affair, and I'm still saying Betty Dorset was having an affair in The House of Mirth.  I will guess that, like in The House of Mirth, in The Great Gatsby, the affair will serve as an indicator of the hypocrisy of the standards of the upper class.  However, in this case, I think it has more to do with the everlasting search for entertainment rather than an attempted escape of a life forced upon one.

Hello There!: Pages 1-12 (The Great Gatsby)

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

As we begin our journey through the 180-page (thank you, merciful Fitzgerald) The Great Gatsby, as in most stories, the author introduces us to the major parts of the story, the most important being, in my opinion, the main characters.  We can assume quickly that Nick the narrator and Gatsby will be major characters in the story, but one must read the handy-dandy summary to find out that Gatsby's future romantic aspirations will make the already married Daisy Buchanan another major character.


I was afraid I wouldn't find a GIF for this section.

The first character Fitzgerald presents is Nick Carraway who recounts the story in the first person.  His opening and the opening of the book comprises of his father's old adage reminding him to be always aware of the advantages of his inherited upbringing.  However, Nick doubts that the advantages his father mentioned were financial advantages but rather the advantages of the narrator's character.  The narrator mentions that, "I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men" (Fitzgerald, 1).  Because of this sensitivity that has already surfaced several times in this section, Nick will likely serve as a tool to portray the contrasts between outer splendor and inner conflicts in other characters.  In addition, his modest proximity to extravagance parallels his detached observance of the wealthy class.

So far, very little is known of Gatsby; he hasn't even made an appearance yet.  What can be told for sure from the story is that he is extremely wealthy.  From the summary, we know that Gatsby will pursue the narrator's married second cousin Daisy Buchanan.  Based on the above quotation, I will guess that this pursuit will result from Gatsby's wild risks evinced by his financial success and include more inner heartache than his surroundings would suggest.

Daisy Buchanan, Nick's second cousin, lives a rather lavish lifestyle with her husband, Tom.  Throughout the entire scene at the Buchanan house, Daisy, Tom, and Daisy's friend Miss Baker, seemed unsatisfied despite their beautiful home.  Nick noticed that Daisy in particular acted as if she were always concentrating on the fact that the dinner must end at some point.  This observation combined with the fact that Tom peaked fairly early in his life, provides a glimpse into Daisy's character.  Even though she lives in success, her life provides very little thrill.  Her desire for more exciting days will likely lead her to take more of an interest in Gatsby, who already has a reputation for being somewhat of a wild thing.

So... It Comes to This: Chapters 13 & 14 (The House of Mirth)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

*WARNING* I will not take responsibility for leaking any spoilers in this blog post.  If you have not finished the novel and desire to go in fresh, read at your own risk.

Now that this ordeal is over, I shall end this round of blogging as I began: with judgment.

Overall, I had no qualms with Wharton's writing style.  I appreciated that, even though she wrote the novel over 100 years ago, the diction was not so advanced as to be incomprehensible. My favorite aspect of Wharton's style was how she utilized sentence structure to reflect the personalities of the characters.  Passages concerning Lily contained long, complex sentences designed to deduce the motives of the surroundings from observations of the smallest details while passages concerning Selden or Gerty tended to be more simplistic and free of overbearing thought.  However, one aspect of her style I enjoyed less was the frequent use of metaphors.  Although many of the metaphors helped clarify concepts, I felt that too many were featured in dialogue.  But perhaps the frequent metaphors added an intended loftiness to the characters' speech.

Now for my judgment on the story line which deals more specifically with the last section.  Overall, I felt the story was boring.  There were few conflicts to pique my interest and those few conflicts were usually tacit and escalated indirectly.  It took almost the entire book for the conflict involving Lily's attempts to escape her debts and loneliness to come to a tangible conclusion: Lily's death.  However, I enjoyed the connection of the modern reader's probable boredom to Lily's anguish at the hands of the from which Wharton herself desired to escape; as the reader suffered through the petty squabbles of high society, Lily herself suffered its cruelty and pettiness. For both the reader and the characters, Lily's story came to an abrupt and unsatisfying end for which the cruelty of the upper class can be blamed.

One consistency in the symbolism offered a pinch of positive to turn this from plain tragic to bitter-sweet.  As Selden unsuspectingly went to visit Lily, he noticed that "it was inevitable that he should connect her with the one touch of beauty in the dingy scene" (Wharton, 264).  Selden noticed this unique quality of Lily at the beginning of the story which was strengthened with the connection to the storm that relieved the mugginess of the city.  But, just like the storm, Lily's refreshing qualities left as suddenly as they appeared.

One question remains: what was the word?

What did We Learn Today?: Chapters 11 & 12 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Seeing as the novel is coming to an end, Wharton needs to wrap up the themes of the story: the reasons she wrote the novel to begin with.  She could have saved both of us a lot of time and effort by simply summing up her lessons in axiomatic sentences, but she decided to show these themes in practice and the process of learning the themes through the story of Lily Bart.

While there are several themes presented throughout the novel, the theme of finding one's true self and pursuing love before money play a specific role in this section.

The first theme (finding oneself) has played a central role in the story since Lily's first encounter with Selden.  Before this section, however, Lily seemed to do nothing to act on her desires to prove her intrinsic worth.  Throughout her life, Lily was used as a an ornament; her mother only paid attention to her inherited beauty, the owner of the hat store only wanted to use her as a model, and Rosedale only wants to marry her to cement his position in the upper ring of society.  She finally decides to put her skills rather than her beauty to the test.  But it turns out she's terrible at sewing.  Even though her attempt at finding something she could do failed, realizing that failure was better than living in debt changed her attitude that might allow her to escape her desires to live in extravagance.  Whereas before her escapades in the hat-sewing business living extravagantly was taken for granted, now she realized how fleeting her wealth really was: "I am not sure that I can; but I have gone over my expenses very carefully, and I rather think I shall be able to manage it" (Wharton, 242).  Even learning what we are incapable of can set us free from our prejudices.


Freedom.


As Lily begins to find her abilities, her priorities come into perspective.  Even though Lily knows very well the rich life and its constituents are not suited for her, the temptation of ease of life drives her to reveal Bertha's secrets and break down the only wall keeping her from her old life.  However, when confronted with the option of pursuing a life with Selden instead of a wealthy life, she chooses Selden.  By searching for what was truly important in herself, Lily came to accept what was truly important in life: true love, not money.


Good Lord, that was cheesy.

That Seems Familiar...: Chapters 9 & 10 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

With the resurgence of the theme of escaping debts, I realized I had  read about this theme before in The Hunger Games.  Alright, those books aren't masterpieces, but that wasn't part of the agreement.

Then Lily withdrew her bow... Hey, it would make this book A LOT more interesting.


In both stories, the protagonists spend a great deal of time calculating risks and, specifically in this section in regards to Lily, trying to free themselves from debt incurred because of others' selflessness.

In Lily's case, she finds herself in literal monetary debt and in debt to her friends for giving her everything she needs.  She tried to live in extravagance in order to maintain her status, but doing so came at a monstrous cost.  She is about $10,000 in debt (which I assume is the monetary value of the nation of Mozambique, but what do I know?).  More than that, when she tries to make arrangements until her aunt's legacy is paid, she finds herself in a different debt.  Any solution her friends offered her were obviously acts of charity, which she could not accept in order to preserve her pride.  She could never repay the kindness her friends offered her, so she chooses to live in near-poverty, which is only slightly better.  Lily clarifies her reasons for avoiding debt by thinking, "... and meanwhile her pride would be crushed under the weight of an intolerable obligation" (Wharton, 240).

In Katniss Everdeen's case, her debt is far more sinister and infinitely more difficult to repay.  Her debts come not from monetary loans; she's richer than almost everyone.  She owes her life to the sacrifices of others.  Just like Lily, she cannot bear the blemish her debts put on her pride.  Katniss goes so far to repay her debts she even actively attempts to sacrifice her own life.

Even though the debts of Lily Bart and Katniss Everdeen demand extremely different payments, the common reason for dreading the debts reveals a common aspect of human nature: almost everyone will do anything to preserve his or her pride.  Perhaps more significantly, these stories warn the reader that repaying debts often demands what a person is rather than what a person has.

When Personal Applications Go Too Far: Chapters 7 & 8 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

I am Gerty Farish incarnate.

After literally every sentence about her, I thought, "Edith Wharton is a time traveler who stalked me and modeled Gerty Farish after me."

Hah! I knew I would be able to use it again!
Those few of you who might be reading this are probably asking yourselves, "How could he think such things?"  Allow me to illuminate you.

In earlier parts of the book, Gerty is described as someone who tends to be rather reclusive and passive when it comes to social situations.  While that description can apply to me fairly seamlessly (seeing as I've done little else but these blogs this summer), the insights into Gerty's persona and motives were so accurate of me I was disturbed.

First came the incident that involved Gerty's decision to despise Selden and Lily.  Once Gerty realized that Selden came to dinner not for Gerty, but to learn more about Lily, Gerty felt used and unbearable.  I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same way when people use me as a text book.  Then, when the very person who had used her and made her feel so worthless came to her door looking for help, she set aside her angst and helped her.  Both Gerty and I feel a great sense of worth in being the person people turn to for help.

In this section specifically, a quote seemed so familiar to me I could have been the originator: "... but she has never come, and I don't like to go to her because I am afraid of forcing myself on her when I'm not wanted" (Wharton, 220).  Even though she plays such a passive role, Gerty is still a major character who attempts to teach Lily the lessons Wharton wishes to teach us.  This brings up a lesson I hope anybody reading this book and/or my blog will learn.  Just because people tend to wallow in the fringes does not indicate that they do not care for others; it means only that they care so little for themselves that they believe it a service to spare others of their presence.  I have never related to a character as completely as I have to Gerty Farish and I have never witnessed a theme in a novel as applicable to my life as this.

What?: Chapters 5 & 6 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Throughout the novel so far, I have been able to pick up for the most part on symbols and parallels fairly easily.  But this section with the Gormers and Dorsets seemed like an abrupt turnaround in the symbolism.

Bertha Dorset was the simplest of symbols to ascertain from this section.  She is obviously the antagonist of the story and has been since she and Lily appeared to compete for Selden at the Bellomont.  Since then, Bertha involved herself in scandalous activities such as the mysterious letters Lily bought and running around with other men.  I still don't know exactly what she's doing.  I would think she is having an affair, but there is too little hard evidence.  This ambiguity and necessity to be as cunning in order to understand the scandals actually creates a distrust for the rich characters that Wharton probably intended.  Overall, with her unbearable and wretched demeanor, Bertha Dorset represents the vanity in Lily that she must overcome to reach Selden.

The Gormers were not too difficult to decipher.  The only difficulty involved was the complexity and range of categories Wharton seems to put people of the upper class.  Once the reader ceases to lump all the rich people together, the true significance of the Gormers can be seen.  When Lily is with the Gormers and their friends, she feels more accepted than when she was with her usual group.  Lily notes, "... all they asked was that she should- in her own way, for they recognised a diversity of gifts- contribute as much to the general amusement as that graceful actress, whose talents, when off the stage, were of the most varied order" (Wharton, 189).  The Gormers seem to represent the ideal balance between wealth and social acceptance.  The two are not exclusive and even generalizing when it comes to those who generalize is a disservice.

The most confusing character is Mr. Dorset who has made it clear that he desires to leave his wife and her wretched ways.  However, Lily notes that, while she sees his disdain for his wife as well-grounded, Dorset is a source of scandal and quite self-absorbed.  Since he seems to embody the worst of both extremes, it is difficult to discern his importance.  Perhaps he represents an outlet for Lily's pity and good will which would sever her ties with her old group while creating ties with a new group that appreciates who she is and not who others say she is.

I would be lying if I said I didn't read this passage with the following expression:

Plentiful Paradoxes and Insatiable Irony: Chapters 3 & 4 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

In this section of The House of Mirth (I'm still trying to see how one can  find mirth in reading this novel...), Wharton relies heavily on two literary devices: paradoxes and irony.

Let's begin with the paradoxes, and if you don't want to, too bad; it's my blog.  Anyhow, specifically, Wharton utilizes paradoxes to highlight the rather absurd nature of the upper class which Lily is finally coming to accept.  When explaining her seemingly controversial involvement in the Dorset debacle (I'm on a roll), Lily observes, "What is truth? Where a woman is concerned, it's the story that's easiest to believe" (Wharton, 182).  Even though Lily is blameless in the Dorset scandal, she cannot help the fact that every rich woman in the circle believes her to be guilty.  Since everyone has already heard rumors of Lily's promiscuity, they have come to expect her to ruin a marriage.  What's more, Lily can do nothing to ameliorate the situation because doing so would make her appear culpable to the her friends who value composure above all.  However, the reader enjoys the luxury of knowing the truth of Lily's innocence in all questionable situations, so the absurdity of the truth of Lily's words provide an insight into the society thus described.  Among rich people, Lily and the reader both find that what should be important (truth, love, individuality) is often trumped by trivial assets (interest, financial security, conformity).  For once, Lily considers what modest and wealthy lives both have to offer side-by-side and rejects the wealthy offer.

Now for irony.  The first item on the list: the unexpected death of Mrs. Peniston.

We all do, Professor.

Her death seems to suggest that wealth and financial security are fleeting and unreliable, but the irony following her death offers more tantalizing importance.  Since Lily lived with Mrs. Peniston for years, everyone expected Lily to receive the majority of the $400,000.  Nope.  Lily received only $10,000 while Grace Stepney was the primary beneficiary of the will.  But wait! There's more!  At first glance, this seems like a devastating blow from beyond the grave, but Lily now has every opportunity to free herself from obligation to the class she just bashed.  Trenor can be paid off with $9,000 and she no longer has to be dependent on Mrs. Peniston's fortune.  She has the means to reinvent herself, but somehow I doubt she will realize it immediately.

Well. That was Awkward: Chapters 1 & 2 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"The soft shade of their niche, and the adjacent glitter of the air, were conducive to an easy lounging mood, and to the smoking of many cigarettes; and Selden, yielding to these influences suffered Mrs. Fisher to unfold to him the history of her recent experiences" (Wharton, 151).

Wharton's style of writing, with its calming imagery and lengthy complexity, serves to parallel Selden's attitude toward the upper class that Carrie Fisher represents and Selden's motives behind fleeing to Europe.

On one hand, Wharton's compound sentences filled to the brim with modifying phrases hints at Selden's view that the wealthy people with whom he is vacationing are beyond boring.  Selden, as we learned previously, was never a fan of showy nick-knacks and pretentious; he enjoyed the essentials and getting straight to the point.  In Wharton's writing, the reader gets a taste of Selden's impatience.  We get it, it was a nice night, now get to the point!  In addition, the reader further empathizes with Selden's apprehensions about Lily who intertwined herself with said rich folk whom Selden suffers to go on about how one restaurant serves the best peas in Europe.


Look at them! Perfection!

Furthermore, the imagery included in the "get to the point" section of the last example provides an insight into why Selden decided to vacation in the first place.  The Provencal night relaxed Selden and allowed him to bear discussion about Lily from whom he was trying to wean himself (the French Riviera? Relaxing? Nonsense!).  The fact that he needed to be calmed down after seeing Lily leave the Trenors' proves that Selden has invested much of himself in Lily.  The mere thought that Lily might be slipping into someone he didn't know, someone who would do anything for money, forced him to flee the continent.  Despite his vows to forget about Lily, once Selden calms down and puts everything into focus, he can realize the truth about Lily.

Uh oh: Chapter 15 (The House of Mirth Book 1)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

"Something in his prompt acquiescence frightened her; she felt behind it the stored force of a patience that might subdue the strongest will" (Wharton, 145).

What stands out in this quote is not a pattern, but a departure from a pattern.  Typically, Wharton describes interactions between characters from the perspectives of all characters.  The thought processes of certain characters, namely Selden and Gerty, are portrayed in addition to Lily's internal plans.  However, Wharton purposefully neglects to portray the thoughts of certain characters, usually Lily's aunt and, in this case, Rosedale.  At most, Wharton includes Lily's guesses of what these negatively viewed characters are thinking based on past experiences and (relatively antisemitic) stereotypes.

By withholding insights into the thought processes of certain characters, Wharton highlights the uncertainty and risk involved with the characters themselves and the ways of life represented by those characters.  For instance, one of Lily's characteristic mannerisms is anticipating the future actions of others and manipulating others to do her bidding.  Therefore, people like Mrs. Peniston and Rosedale pose a threat to Lily: she cannot know for certain what they are thinking.  This uncertainty ties into the theme of rejecting total conformity to the most wealthy class.  Both Mrs. Peniston and Rosedale in this chapter stated that, if Lily should chose to live with either her aunt or Rosedale, she would have no control over finances; she would be totally dependent on others for money.  The lack of control she has over conversations and confrontations with Mrs. Peniston and Rosedale parallels the lack of control over anything that would come from a married life forever in the upper-class.

In other news, I gain much sadistic pleasure in the conundrum Lily finds herself in with Rosedale's proposal, Selden's departure, and the invitation for the cruise.


Haha!

Unlikely Friendships: Chapters 13 & 14 (The House of Mirth Book 1)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

In this section, Lily's obligations to Trenor become painfully apparent and she decides to seek out Gerty Farish who we later learn had just previously decided to despise her.


I'm still not sure that sentence makes sense.


At the beginning of the story, the two women could hardly appear to be any more dissimilar.  While Lily lived  a rather glamorous life with her wealthy aunt who gave her anything she needed, Gerty lived in her own flat learning to utilize the little she had to its full potential.  Even more, Lily seemed to be disgusted by this disparity: Lily believed that wealth must be hoarded and showcased as a sign of dignity while Gerty chose to use the money she had for philanthropy.  Lily even noted "that Gerty had always been a parasite in the moral order, living on the crumbs of other tables, and content to look through the window at the banquet spread for her friends" (Wharton, 121).  The inner mechanics of their minds vastly differed.  Lily always developed some scheme in her mind to anticipate and neutralize the unseen threats in another's character whereas Gerty spent little effort questioning motives and made rather simplistic characterizations.

Ironically, the two women's differences offered a chance for connection.  Both women grew more complex as the story unfolded.  First of all, Lily's provincial view on the role of wealth in one's status widened when she made a donation to Gerty's charity, and, likewise, Gerty gained an appreciation of Lily's extravagance during the Welly Brys spectacle.  Shortly before Lily arrived at Gerty's flat, Gerty's simplistic praise of Lily and Gerty's cousin Selden, who had come for dinner to gain more knowledge of Lily, became more complex.  Usually, any attention at all would brighten the day of Gerty who was commonly viewed as dull.  However, she began to question Selden's motives and surmised that Selden had no concern for her when he came to dinner, only for Lily. Similarly, after Trenor demanded more than money from Lily, Lily's guard dropped and she placed her trust totally in the hands of Gerty without even giving any thought to Gerty's newly found disdain for Lily.

Although both women seemed to adopt the other's characteristics, similarity comes from the women's ability to grow and become round characters (AP Lit version of product placement).  By showing how these  two women gravitate towards the other's seemingly opposite way of life, Wharton promotes the idea that a happy middle ground can be found between over-the-top extravagance and the life of an ascetic.  Most importantly, the women's greatest similarity is one of the main themes of the work: the desire to stand out as an individual and be appreciated for doing so.