The House of Mirth: Book I, Chapters XIV and XV

Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth has finally reached a turning point within these last two chapters of Book I. The rising action consists of a series of domino effect events. When Miss Bart is trapped inside the Dorset's home by Mr. Dorset, Mr. Selden observes Miss Bart leaving, which causes him to view the situation from a negative perspective. Mr. Rosedale attempts to seduce Miss Bart by saying he would spoil her with all the money she possibly needed, and she almost falls for his tricks. Right as the rising action is about to peak, Miss Bart discovers she loves Mr. Selden, and needs his presence in her life. The turning point is finally brought about when Miss Bart discovers that Mr. Selden, "Was among the passengers sailing this afternoon for Havana and the West Indies on the Windward Linear Antilles" (Wharton, 145). Right as Miss Bart finally makes her decision that she needs Mr. Selden in her life, more conflict occurs by him running off. These few chapters are packed full of drama which allows Wharton to create a suspenseful atmosphere for the reader. The suspenseful style allows the reader to really get into the book and find it interesting. Finally, one note of confusion I have is did Mr. Selden leave on his cruise with Mrs. Dorset? Wharton almost implies that that is what happened, but I am not quite sure if that is accurate.