You Sneaaaaky Edith!

The House of Mirth
Chapter XV

Rosedale is actually asking Miss Bart to marry him-I honestly never would have guessed it so! Though, I should not have had any problem in doing so, because flipping back, Wharton left so many forshadowing clues. For example,  Lily's aquaintances warned her on multiple occasions that being "civil" to Mr. Rosedale would pay off. Gus Trenor said to Miss Bart at the Stepney wedding, "But there's one thing you might do for me; and that is, just to be a little civil to Rosedale....I don't believe two women have spoken to him this afternoon, and I can tell you he's a chap it pays to be decent to" (Wharton, 75). How did I not pick up on this?! Also, I absolutely admire Wharton's use of diction in such warnings. With the use of the word "pays" in this excerpt, she so heavily forshadows not only Rosedale's proposal, but also Bart's contemplation of acceptance in order to pay off her debts. HOW CLEVER!! THAT'S FANTASTIC! Such a realization has now opened so many doors of preception for each and every line of the novel. Each has the potential of holding a key part of plot before it even unfolds! Reading Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth is like a scavenger hunt; one must pick up on the clues. If not, then one can learn to appreciate them after certain events increase their lucidity.