In Chapters 3 and 4 of The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton reveals to the audience the true Lily Bart. While Lily is still engrossed with the material things in life, we see another side of her. A more vulnerable side. We learn why Lilly is forced to calculate the repercussions of every action she makes. She is not rich. While she maintains an opulent lifestyle, she has not the funds to carry this on. She relies on others to allow her to live this lifestyle. We also learn why she wants to live this lifestyle. She is simply following in the way of her late mother who she so dearly looks up to. Warton writes "To the lady and her acquaintances there was something heroic in living as though one were much richer than one's bankbook denoted" (Wharton 23). This shows that as her mother did, Lily as well lives a high lifestyle with meager money. Lily is much more relatable during these chapters, her life has not been perfect, and her life is not as blessed as we were previously led to believe.
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