Poor Future?

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

So far throughout the novel, Lily has struggled to maintain her wealthy appearance. Wealth has seemed to be the constant battle Lily faces whether in love or in her personal reputation. After her unexpected entrapment at the Trenor's house, Lily stayed the night at her friend Gerty's apartment. Gerty seems to be the antithesis of Lily. Gerty works for her living. She is somewhat poor (by Lily's standards), and she doesn't have the charm that Lily possesses. However, I feel as though Lily will become much like Gerty by the end of the novel. I think that this last passage I read in book one contains foreshadowing. "She (Lily) lay back, looking about the poor slit of a room with a renewal of physical distaste" (Wharton, 137). To me, this expression of disgust with Gerty's home and lifestyle, along with previous expressions of distaste for the unwealthy, led me to believe that eventually Lily will have to endure this type of lifestyle. I hope that if Lily must face this kind of lifestyle that she will do so with composure and self-responsibility.