Two characters cause conflict in the next section of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton through the use of blackmail. The first antagonistic character is Mrs. Haffen who comes to Miss Bart unannounced with a collection of letters between Mr. Selden and Mrs. Dorset. Lacking both money and employment, Mrs. Haffen demands a large sum or else she will release the letters. This action could possibly tarnish Mr. Selden's character, so Miss Bart feels it is her duty to obtain possession of the letters. Furthermore, Miss Bart has to use her own spending money to pay this woman off. Later on in this section, Mr Rosedale causes more havoc for Miss Bart when he invites her to see an opera, but persuades her by saying he, "Hear[ed] Gus pulled off a nice little pile for [her] last month" (Wharton, 92). This is not the first time in the novel where Mr. Rosedale uses information against Miss Bart. With the information he gathers, he uses it to manipulate Miss Bart into acting as he prefers. Mr. Rosedale has become a barrier that Miss Bart has to overcome by unwanted flattery and kindness. It seems to me that every character in this book tends to cause conflict with Miss Bart in some way or another.
No comments:
Post a Comment