House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

“I have kept her [the old Lily Bart] with me all this time, but now we are going to part, and I have brought her back to you (Wharton, 251)…”

So many things could have occurred during this conversation between Lily and Selden. He could have professed his love. Lily could have asked Selden what he thought of her. Instead, she thought the romance extinguished with the rise of the rumors. Sometimes, an opportunity stares a person straight in the face, yet he is too afraid or foolish to take advantage of it. He saw the self-loathing and destructive state that Lily was in, yet he did not tell her anything. He stood there, allowing her to leave him forever. Although she ultimately dies, Lily made some very important progress. She denied her fancy lifestyle that she could no longer afford. She consented willingly to her new life. It is a good resolution but the price of the decision weighed heavily on her heart. She overdosed completing the resolution of the story.