Fears

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton
Book II

"Another, and stronger, please; if I don't keep awake now I shall see horrors tonight- perfect horrors" (Wharton, 215). 

To me, this quote seems interesting. Here, Lily asks Gerty for strong tea to keep her awake so that later she will be able to sleep instead of seeing horrors. At this point, her entire life would seem like a nightmare. I don't think that any difference is made between her nightmares and her time awake. She has created so many problems for herself that she fears her own life. I think that the phrase "perfect horrors" epitomizes Lily's life. She has worked so hard to create this perfect life for herself, but this has only earned her the loss of friends and popularity, the spread of rumors, and the threat of an ominous debt. She has spent her life chasing things that have now escaped her. Lily feels lost in their void, which the horrors now fill. I think that Lily needs to accept her position in life and stop chasing fleeting moments of luxury. Perhaps then horrors will cease.