The House of Mirth Book 2 Chapters 5-6

In chapters 5 and 6 of The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, it seems Lily is going to go back to her old ways. Even though most all her old friends have abandoned her, Carry Fisher introduces her to the Gormers. Lily, feels that she is too good for the Gormers even though she has almost no money to her own name. Lily goes on a trip with the Gormers to Alaska, helping the Gormers to move up the social ladder. When at the Gormers newly built country-house, Lily runs into George Dorset. George obviously wants a divorce from his wife, and for Lily to mary him. Oddly enough, Lily makes a moral decision, saying no, for she doesn't want to ruin the marriage. Even though her getting the Dorsets divorced would ruin Bertha, who has screwed Lily multiple times, she still refuses. Later, Lily meets George Dorset and is able to again refuse him.Wharton writes "Their eyes met, and for a second she trembled again with the nearness of the temptation" (Wharton 201). This shows that while it may have helped Lily, she is able to make the right decision. While Lily is still focused deeply on money, it seems that she is beginning to become a better person. She has become more moral and upstanding, and I am interested to see where this leads, whether Lily will ever pass into Selden's "Repuclic of the Spirit" (Wharton 54).