Key Line: “He took all her twists and turns of conscience, with eyes half-tender and half-mocking, and an instant acquiescence which was the finest homage to the ‘lady’ she felt he divined and honored in her” (167).

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The twists and turns portray West’s internal conflict well, especially in her desire to be seen as a respected “lady.”  Meanwhile, the half-half eyes of Deering foreshadow some trouble…

Summary: 

Deering’s wife is dead it’s been 10 days, Juliet lives with her friends now and then Deering is off to America because Mrs. Deering has some property there. Lizzie is heartbroken and breaks out into tears, Deering is sad and kisses her again for the last time. 

Key Line: 

“My wife is dead – she died suddenly ten days ago. Didn’t you see it in the papers?” (168) 

 Summary: Mrs Deering died and Juliet is left with a relative. Lizzie is unsure about what happens now and there is this weird tension between them until finally Mr Deering hugs Lizzie and kisses her.

Commentary: Wharton uses characterisation to show us that Mr Deering himself doesn't know what to make of the situation. He sounds distraught.

Summary: 

The wife dies and that is good and bad news. Juliet is out of the house and will not return any time soon. Lizzie despairs over the fact that she does not have to tutor anymore. Mr Deering has to go to America but after he tells her that, he asks for her embrace and she jumps into her arms. She is happy that now she can be his. 

Key Line: 

“she went –went with a sweet, wild throb of liberation, with the sense that at last the house was his. That she was his,” 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

Juliet being lost and Mrs Deerings death is both a good and a bad thing for Lizzie. But in the end she ends up in the arms of Mr Deering and the author describes this in explicit detail with that key line. Wharton uses strong diction to portray her feelings. 

Summary: 

The chapter is about how lizzie will be unable to further tutor Juliet Deering due to the unforeseen death of Mrs. Deering. However, the sad truth gave a glimmer of hope to Lizzie as she was in love with Mr Deering. After being conflicted, Mr. Deering finally embrace her. 

Key Line: 

“Deering still hesitated, tormenting the cigarette between his fingures” pg 169 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

The Character of Mr. Deering is portrayed clearly in the key line, as the confliction between honoring his deceased wife and embracing his indulgence for Lizzie is tormenting  him. Which is able to be observe through the context of the book and the agitation through the diction use, ‘tormenting’ as if the confliction is indeed torment himself. 

Key Line: He pushed back her veil and covered her face with kisses. “Don’t cry, you little goose!” he said. 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

Mr. Deering really loves and cares for Lizzy. ‘Goose’ symbolizes one’s ability to face fears and rivals. Here, Mr. Deering refers to Lizzy as little goose to show how he understands her feelings and that he’s there for her; as a goose spirit often symbolizes warrior spirit, protection and bravery. To emphasize how she is brave and that she will be able to go through it because he will be with her. 

 

 

Summary: Lizzie went out for dinner with Mr Deering in a seclude restaurant and spent the night in silence, after he left, they continued writing letters but Lizzie was not sure how to write them, as she is very deeply in love and she was afraid it would amuse or bore him. She met Andora Macy at a salon.

HOW ABOUT THE COMMENTARY? (maafkan saya saya lupa)
Commentary: in this passage we see that Mr Deering and Lizzie do indeed love each other, but Lizzie might love Mr Deering more than he does her, as we can see just how much in love Lizzie is with Mr Deering through the stream of conciousness

Summary: Lizzie discovered that Mrs. Deering has passed away 10 days ago. Mr. Deering left Juliet at St-Raphael with his late wife’s acquaintance. He will be traveling to America to deal with his wife’s property and money. 

 

Key Line: “…Wild throb of liberation, with the sense that at last the house was his, that she was his, if he wanted her; that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in the room above constraint and shame her rapture”(169) 

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

This line reflects Lizzie’s inner conflict of grieving for the death of Ms.Deering but at the same time, she is relieved that Ms.Deering is no longer in the way of her relationship. Edith Wharton uses the symbolism of the house and room to display the sense of ownership /possession in their relationship. 

Key Line:

“Was everything to be changed in their lives? But ofcourse; how could she have dreamed it would be otherwise? She could only stupidly repeat: “Not coming back? Not this spring?” ” (169)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):  The Deering’s possible disappearance from Lizzie’s life produces an internal conflict in her life. Not only would she lose her job, she is also losing someone she loves. 

Deering and Lizzie decide that they love each other a lot and Deering asked Lizzie to marry him when he gets back from America. Lizzie has never been deeply in love which is why she contemplates on how to express her love in her letters while Deering has no problem expressing his love. She isn’t used to the expression of personal emotion which is why she has trouble sending the letters to him. She talks about how she feels sorry for the girls at the Passy pension since they haven’t felt true love. 

Key Line:

“It was perhaps for this reason that she took a wistful interest in Lizzie, who had shrunk from her at first, as the depressing image of her own probable future, but to whom she had now suddenly become an object of sentimental pity”. 

Summary: Lizzie found out that Mrs. Deering was death. Juliet is not coming back and so she had no reason to come, and Mr Deering will need to go to America. Lzzie took the courage to ask Mr Deering whether he is going to be gone for long and cried. Mr. Deering then kissed her, and there were tension in the room. 

 

Key Line: 

“And she went--went with a sweet, wild throb of liberation, with the
 sense that at last the house was his, that _she_ was his, if he
 wanted her; that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in
 the room above constrain and shame her rapture” 

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

The personification used show the tension in the room, symbolism of conflict and foreshadow of trouble 

Lizzie returns to the Deerings’ house, to which she finds out that Mrs. Deering had passed away, Juliet was staying with friends in America, and that Mr. Deering has to go there to sort out his late wife’s inheritance

 

Key Line:

“And she went – went with a sweet, wild throb of liberation, with the sense that at last the house was his, that she was his, if he wanted her; that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in the room above constrain and shame her rapture. (169)”

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Comfort and relief are offered to Lizzie, as her stream of consciousness is explored – the audience knows that she is happy, as the scathing eyes of Mrs. Deering would never be there to judge her actions – she is now, supposedly, a ‘proper lady’

Key Line: “And she went—went with a sweet, wild throb of liberation, with the sense that at last the house was his, that she was his, if he wanted her; that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in the room above constrain and shame her rapture” (169).

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie’s sense of “liberation” refers to her supposed liberation of internal conflict from having an affair with a married man. She expresses her joy as her desire to be Mr. Deering’s is now fulfilled with the death of Mrs. Deering. Mrs. Deering being described as a “silent, rebuking presence” is an ominous symbol for the obstacle that stands between Lizzie and her desire.

Lizzie and Mr. Deering go on quiet, secluded dates together before he leaves for America. Lizzie intends to write to him while he is there, but still has her share of worries and hopes in their relationship.

 

Key Line:

“You don’t know much about being in love, do you, Lizzie? (171)”

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

This line, said by Mr. Deering, characterizes Lizzie as unsure and inexperienced about courting, a sentiment she constantly mulls over.

Key Line:

Deering was silent. He stood a little way off, twisting an unlit cigarette in his hand, and looking down at he with a gaze that was both hesitating and constrained. 

She, too, felt the constraint of the situation, the impossibility of finding words that, after what had passed between them, should seem neither false nor heartless;

(168)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

There's a small repetition of  feelings of ‘constraint’ from the characters. Like the whole situation was holding them back like a chain. The characters feels guilty. 

Summary: Mr. Deering and Lizzy went to dinner together and promised to write to each other. 

Key Line: She was sure now that Deering loved her, and if he had seized the occasion of their farewell to give her some definitely worded sign of his feeling — if, more plainly, he had asked her to marry him, — his doing so would have seemed less like a proof of his sincerity than of his suspecting in her the need of a verbal warrant. 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

Lizzie just found out Mr. Deering’s wife just died. Ironically, she still hopes that he would ask her to marry him. This is ironic because his wife just died and this time should be mourning time for him instead of cozying up with another girl. 

 

Key Line:

“to be with him was always like breasting a bright, rough sea, that blinded while it buoyed her: but his letters  formed a still pool of contemplation. Above which she could bend, and see the reflection of the sky, and the myriad movements of life that flitted and gleamed below the surface.” (171)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Edith Wharton utilizes the imagery of nature (sea and the sky) to reflect Lizzie’s feelings for Mr.Deering. This passage shows how love ‘blinds’ her from seeing the problems and consequences that could result from her relationship. 

Summary: The passing of Vincent Deerings wife opened the door for Lizzie to fall back in love.

Key Line: “Lizzie heard him with a drop of the heart. Was everything to be changed in their lives? But of course, how could she dreamed it would be otherwise?” (169)

Commentary: Edith Wharton uses metaphor to emphasize the impact of Mr. Deering’s kiss on Lizzie. 

Summary: Mr. Deering announced to Lizzie that his wife has suddenly died during her first visit since 6 months. However, even though his wife has died, this does not discourage him from embracing Lizzie.

 

Key lines:  “My wife is dead – she died suddenly ten days ago. Didn’t you see it in the papers?” (168)

 

This big event started the main internal conflict in Lizzie in Chapter 2, which triggers her flurry  of thoughts and her doubts that the audience go through with Lizzie with. However, at the end of the chapter, Mr. Deering embraces her and reassures her of her doubts, which acts as a great transition.

 

Key Line: “She was sure now that Deering loved her, and if he had seized the occasion of their farewell to give her some definitely worded sign of his feeling—if, more plainly, he had asked her to marry him,—his doing so would have seemed less like a proof of his sincerity than of his suspecting in her the need of a verbal warrant” (170)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):  Lizzie’s certainty in Deering’s love towards her seems to have been strengthened

Key Line: “And she went—went with a sweet, wild throb of liberation, with the sense that at last the house was his, that she was his, if he wanted her; that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in the room above constrain and shame her rapture” (169).

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie felt liberated as one source of her internal conflict is ‘gone’, revealing a glimpse of the nature of her character.

Key Line: To be with him was always like
 breasting a bright, rough sea, that blinded while it buoyed her: but
 his letters formed a still pool of contemplation, above which she
 could bend, and see the reflection of the sky, and the myriad
 movements of life that flitted and gleamed below the surface. 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The imagery of Lizzies feelings of being with Mr. Deering portray the amusing yet dark relationship they are in. 

Key Line: “My wife is dead – she died suddenly ten days ago.” (Page 168)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Imagery was used to set the tense mood of the situation throughout Lizzie’s conversation with Deering.

Summary: 

Lizzie had to see Deering again. They went to a restaurant together and promised to write while he's away

Key Line: 

“Her life had given her a certain acquaintance with the arts of defense: girls in her situation were commonly supposed to know them all, and to use them as occasion called.” (170). 

“It seemed easy enough to reject this imputation in a kiss; but she wondered afterward if she had not deserved it. Was she really cold and conventional, and did other women give more richly and recklessly?” (171). 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

Lizzie is trying very hard to be a more experienced lover. However, the norms or roles of being a ‘lady’ is restraining her. She does not know how much to give to a man. Wharton wrote this in a period where the strict norms are becoming less stringent. However, some are still judging and taboo acts are still considered new. Kissing a man outright might seem to be unladylike. 

 

Key Line: “All that she felt and said would be subjected to the test of comparison with what others had already given him” (171). 

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie did not feel confident in herself, which is another internal conflict of hers. This shows the insecurity brewing inside her.

Key Line: “Oh,” Lizzie murmured, feeling vaguely that this added to the difficulty of the moment. How differently she had pictured their meeting! (168

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Her reply which was a simple “oh” shows just how shocked she was. And was disappointed on how the meeting ended up being. It also shows how she felt guilty towards Mrs. Deering.

The chapter is about mr. Deering and lizzie slowly  embracing the love they have for each other, where she was hesitant to express the true feeling she have for him in words, but finally, through mr Deering’s charming words their relationship has established itself. This occur prior to Mr Deerings departure.

Key Line:

“To be with him was always like breasting a bright , rough sea, that blinded while it buoyed her”

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

The key line depicts the literary feature of a simile being use in the passage. It portrays the confliction in Lizze through the use of contradicting’ images breasting a bright’ ,\and ‘rough sea’

Lezzie thinks Mr Deering is totally in love with her, but he leaves to America. Her roommate Andora Macy wants to live in the drama through Lizzie

Key Line:

“She was now sure that Deering loved her, and if he had seized the occasion of their farewell to give her some definite worded sign of his feelings.”

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

She began to be sure of his love for her through this line. At least this is what she perceived. Now she is more confident of his love for her. It could be there but we arent sure. This foreshadowing sort of hints that he doesn’t love her and she is being tricked. 

Key Line: “that never again would that silent, rebuking presence in the room above constrain and shame her rapture.” 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The silent, rebuking presence is a symbolism for Mrs. Deering’s presence that is no longer there to shame Lizzie. 

Key Line: 

“Meanwhile the first days after Deering’s departure wore a soft, refracted light like the radiance lingering after sunset.” 

Summary: The days prior and after the departure of Vincent Deering left Lizzie feeling lucky and in love. 

Key Line: “She was now sure that Deering loved her, and if he had seized the occasion of their farewell to give her some definitely worded sign of his feeling — if, more plainly, he had asked her to marry him — his doing so would have seemed less like a proof of his sincerity than of his suspecting in her the need of a verbal want.”

Commentary: In this key line, we are able to conclude that Vincent’s love for Lizzie felt more ensured, even without saying it verbally. This foreshadows that Vincent’s love was not true, because she was determined that Vincent loved her through her feelings instead of him saying it verbally. 

Key Line: “They gave her, at any rate, during the weeks that she wore them on her heart, sensations even more complex and delicate than Deering’s actual presence had ever occasioned.”

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Hyperbole was used to effectively describe Lizzie’s emotions.

Key Line: "The document, when completed, seemed to her worthy of what she conceived to be Deering’s conception of a woman of the world, and she found a spectral satisfaction in the thought of making her final appearance before him in that distinguished character." (Page 175)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The continuous repetition of Lizzie's searching for a letter from Vincent every time she is expecting one leads to a  feeling of utter disappointment for readers when Vincent stops writing back to her because they are engaged with Lizzie's character. 

Summary: 

After Mr Deering left for America, they have maintain their undefined relationship through sending letters to each other, and after the receiving the first letter, It became Lizzie's  regular excitement. However, after awhile Mr. Deering's letters stopped. It cause her anxiety which lead to her suspecting her housemate of stealing her letters. And after, she finally doubted the relationship itself and Mr Deering's commitment to her.

Key Line:

"She has fallen down an endless stairway in a dream"

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

This key line depicts the sadness and disappointment lizzie felt. With the use of the phrase ' stairway in a dream' it shows that her success in love with Mr Deering was like a dream, and losing it was like a fall from grace,

Mr Deering stops sending letter back to her and Lizzie feels distraught. She is afraid that she exaggerated their relation, and in fact he doesn’t love her. But she keeps denying it until in the end she sends a letter to leave their relationship with dignity. Its never answered. 

Key Line:

”In the blankness of her misery she felt no dread of death; but the horror of being ill and ”dependent” was in her blood. 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

This line is a perfect description of Lizzie’s feelings. But this line also says something about what women thought of themselves back then, or at least what was perceived of them. In their blood they were dependent, as she was dependent on Mr Deering’s letter to motivate her to live. This is of diction in the word dependent has a strong meaning as it says a lot about her. She needed him but he did not need her. 

Deering wrote to her for the first few days but then completely vanished. Miss Macy might’ve suspected the scandalous relationship between Deering and Lizzie. After not receiving any answered letters from Deering, Lizzie no longer hides her anxiety from Miss Macy. She finally writes a final letter to Deering letting him go from his “sentimental obligations”.

Key Line:

“But the horror of being ill and dependent was in her blood” (174).

”The document, when completed. Seemed to her worthy of what she conceived to be Deering’s conception of a woman of the world” (175).

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

It is revealed that her inner conflict is that she’s too scared of being alone or “dependent”. Even when she finally decides to write a last letter to Deering, she still thinks of how she’ll be dubbed worthy or ‘a woman of the world’ by DEERING’s conception. Not her own. As long as Deering views her as a 'lady', then all's well. Thus, she doesn't really care about being a lady but simply wants to be perceived as a lady.

Key Line: “The document, when completed, seemed to her worthy of what she conceived to be Deering’s conception of a woman of the world, and she found a spectral satisfaction in the thought of making her final appearance before him in that distinguished character” (175). 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):  Lizzie is further characterized as someone who yearns to be seen as a lady, and feels satisfied that her final letter to Deering makes it sound like she is that lady. She adheres to Deering’s conception of a “woman of the world”, which suggests that gender roles do indeed play a role in the story and the dynamics between Lizzie and Deering. She is satisfied that she has successfully portrayed herself as what Deering perceives to be a lady. 

Key Line: To be with him was always like breasting a bright, rough sea, that blinded while it buoyed her (171

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): They are both in love even though their relationship didn’t start on the right ground. But they are ”Blinded” by love.

Key Line: “...and Miss West, seated at a table within that privileged circle, presented to the light a hat much better able to sustain its scrutiny than those which had sheltered the brow of Juliet Deering’s instructress” (175). 

Commentary: Lizzie’s new hat symbolizes her newfound wealth, and how different she is now to the Lizzie she was two years ago. The hat is much more capable of sustaining its scrutiny than the hat Lizzie wore as Juliet Deering’s governess, just as how Lizzie is now much more capable of withstanding other people’s scrutiny as a wealthy woman. Lizzie is now the ‘proper lady’ she has always wanted to be.

Key Line:  “She was still Lizzie West, and he was still Vincent Deering; but the Styx rolled between them, and she saw his face through its fog.”

Commentary: Wharton alludes to the River Styx, a river in Greek mythology, that separates the underworld and the living world. Lizzie seeing Vincent’s face through the river’s fog signifies that the two of them had become so distant over these past three years, so much that Deering appears to her foggy as if he is on the other side of the river. Deering has become somewhat like a ghost. And although Lizzie is still Lizzie and Vincent is still Vincent, Lizzie is well-aware of how different they had become and how she no longer knows anything about Deering.

Summary: 

It was springtime when Lizzie is having lunch at Daurent’s, with Miss Macy, Mr. and Mrs. Lears, and Mr. Jackson Benn who has taken a liking at Lizzie (I think). She recently received wealth from her cousin’s will. Lizzie infers that she’s become a new woman, more ladylike for taking in personalities of the girls around her. A man keeps looking at Lizzie and it is discovered that it is Deering. 

Key Line: 

“But to Miss West herself, the occurrence did not rise above the usual. For nearly a year she had been acquiring the habit of such situations, and the act of offering a luncheon at Daurent’s to her cousins.” 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

Ever since parting with Deering, Lizzie has used all of her time to learn the etiquettes or go to luncheons with her friends and relatives. She uses Deering’s absence to be more social. Additionally, learning those etiquettes made her the lady she always dreamed of being. 

Key Line: "The document, when completed, seemed to her worthy of what she conceived to be Deering’s conception of a woman of the world, and she found a spectral satisfaction in the thought of making her final appearance before him in that distinguished character" (175).

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie is illustrated as someone who would justify herself to Deering in order for her to leave a supposedly good impression. The fact that Lizzie tries to paint herself in a good light not only reveals the nature of her character, but it also pokes at the gender role present in the story. Even when Deering stopped replying to her letters and Lizzie decided to broke it off with him, she still tries to writes while having Deering’s interest at heart.

Key Line: “There again – I can’t tell. It’s all so frightfully mixed up,” He met her look for an incredibly long, strange moment. “I hate to go!” he murmured as if to himself. (169)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The imagery in the key line is helpful In giving the summary a mysterious tone. We see that Vincent has to go to America however the “incredibly long, strange moment.” makes the audience very skeptical as if to why he is doing so besides the property in America.

Before Vincent leaves for America, he and Lizzie goes out for a date where Lizzie is finally certain the Vincent is in love with her. They then promise to write letters to one another.

Key Line:
“They gave her, at any rate, during the weeks that she wore them on her heart, sensations even more complex and delicate"

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): We can see that this is hyperbole being used to show Lizzie's emotions on Vincent.

After he had left to America, Vincent and Lizzie keeps in contact through the letters they had promised. One day however the letters stopped being sent which caused Lizzie to panic and suspect her housemates for stealing. At the end she questions Deering’s commitment.

 Key Line:

"In the blankness of her misery she felt no dread of death; but the horror of being ill and 'dependent' was in her blood" 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device)
The plot in which this story follows is used to show the character progress of Lizzie who is seen what was once happy, feel ill when no letters are being sent back to her.

In springtime, Lizzie eats at Daurent with Miss Macy, Mr. and Mrs. Lears, and Mr. Jackson Benn. Lizzie is more ladylike as she is taking personalities from the girls around her and as she keeps looking, she realizes a man is staring at her which soon is discovered to be Deering.

Key Line:
 “But to Miss West herself, the occurrence did not rise above the usual. For nearly a year she had been acquiring the habit of such situations, and the act of offering a luncheon at Daurent’s to her cousins.” 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): We can see through the characterization of Lizzie that she has changed but the suprise at the end creates a suprise for the readers.

Key Line: “They were the last words she had meant to utter; they were hardly related to her conscious thoughts; but she felt her whole will suddenly gathered up in the irrepressible impulse to repudiate…” (182)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Although the current Lizzie has met good fortune, through her denial of her engagement with Benn, it was revealed that Lizzie is still holding on to the past—to her love for Deering—instead of moving on to a brighter future. Her conscious thoughts recognize that it will be better to wed Benn instead of the failing Deering, but her heart tells her otherwise. Here, an internal conflict between Lizzie’s mind and heart is evident.

Key Line : The release had seemed wonderful at first; yet she presently found that it had destroyed her former world without giving her a new one.

Their very emptiness made her strain to pack them with transient sensations: she was like the possessor of an unfurnished house, with random furniture and bric-a-brac perpetually pouring in "on approval."

Commentary : Despite the wealth she received from her late cousin, Lizzie seems to feel that her life did not improve and that her world stayed the same as she could still feel the sadness of her life. As she feels this way, she also feels that her feelings aren’t consistent. They change from time to time in a short period and it was as if she keeps on feeling random emotions that are not always approved by how she truly feels.

Key Line: "..but to Miss West herself, the occurrence did not rise above the usual. For nearly a year she had been acquiring the habit of such situations, and the act of offering a luncheon at Daurent’s to her cousins,” (Page 175)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The variety of descriptions included in this chapter regarding the discontent and emptiness that she continuously feels shows that regardless of the wealth she received from her cousin, she is still sorrowful from the end of her relationship with Vincent.

Key Line: “On the ruins of the old pension life bloomed the only flower that had ever sweetened her path; and beyond the sense of present ease, and the removal of anxiety for the future, her reconstructed existence blossomed with no compensating joys” (176). 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): In contrast to when Lizzie did not have much wealth, she is is more content with what she have then rather than when she gains wealth. This conveys how wealth does not provide her happiness, but the “only flower that had ever sweetened her path”—love—does. 

 

Key Line : The release had seemed wonderful at first; yet she presently found that it had destroyed her former world without giving her a new one.

 

His new life full of wealth has completely erased her old self, the one of joy and content; however, it has not improved, and thus even with a deep pocket, her life is still shallow and empty, a life missing a huge and important aspect of love.

Lizzie obtains a lot of wealth from her cousins’ inheritance. When eating in a restaurant Mr. Vincent Deering says that he already has the pleasure of knowing Lizzie West. 
Key Line:
"find herself among the heirs of an old and miserly cousin whose testamentary dispositions had formed, since her earliest childhood, the subject of pleasantry and conjecture in her own improvident family" (175).

Mr.Deering and Lizzie sends each other letters regulary, which Lizzie receives through Miss Macy. One day, Lizzie received no letter and she suspected Miss Macy of hiding the letter from her. In the first week, she wrote again and again to Mr.Deering in hopes for a reply, however with no results she writes a final letter which ‘freed’ him from their relationship.

Key Line:

“… she had dramatized their relation, exaggerated her own part in it, presumed, forsooth, to share the front of the stage with him, instead of being content to serve as a scenery or a chorus” (174)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Lizzie comes to a realization that she had over romanticized their relationship. This is shown through the metaphor of a ‘scenery’ and a ‘chorus’. By referring to a ‘scenery’ or a ‘chorus’, Lizzie realizes she is not Mr.Deering’s first priority

 Key Line:

“ their very emptiness made her strain to pack them with transient sensations: she was like the possessor of an unfurnished house, with random furniture…” (176)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Even with her newfound wealth, Lizzie still feels lonely and empty. This is shown through the use of simile, comparing Lizzie to a “possessor of an unfurnished house” .  

summery: 
This chapter take place in the Daurents restaurant, Lizzie has gotten new wealth from her old cousins will. Lizzie attempts to be more lady like by imitating the girls around her. The lizzie notices a gentleman watching her from a far. Then Mr Benn pointed out that the man reminds him of Mr. Deering.

Key line:
The fresh spring sunshine which had so often attended lizzie weston her dusty limb up the hill of ST- cloud beamed on her, som two years later

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Flash forward is being used to skip un relevent plot in the love story between Lizzie and Mr. Deering

 

Key line: Lizzie sat silent, spellbound, as she listened, by the sudden evocation of Mr. Jackson Benn. He stood there again, between herself and Deering, perpendicular and reproachful, but less solid and sharply” (181)

 

After meeting with Mr. Deering again, Lizzie’s internal conflict starts to reappear. Even after all this time, and her conclusion that she has moved on, his sudden reappearance has changed everything again. Now Lizzie is given a hard decision to make, whether or not she should follow her heart and leave Mr Jackson or stay to what she has already decided.

Key Line:

"Their very emptiness made her strain to pack them with transient sensations: she was like the possessor of an unfurnished house... (176)"

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie’s feelings of being among the wealthy elite members are emphasized through simile in comparison to an unfurnished house. Although it seems as she already fit in, her attempt seems plain (emptiness), like nothing

Key Line:   “And she now saw that the fact of her letters--her unanswered letters--having, on his own assurance, "meant so much" to him, had been the basis on which this beautiful fabric was reared” (187).

Commentary: The letters serve as a symbol of Lizzie’s love towards Deering and are one of the foundations to Lizzie and Vincent Deering’s relationship. Deering’s claim of having read those letters despite never replying to them may very well be one of the main reasons Lizzie agreed to be with him again three years ago. Lizzie has chosen to be with Deering rather than Benn due to the premise of these letters. Thus, the fact that Deering has never actually opened these letters, much less read them, is a huge shock and betrayal to Lizzie. Lizzie’s emotions are poured into these letters, and Deering not bothering to even read them shows his utter disregard towards Lizzie’s feelings. Through this, Lizzie realizes that the relationship she has with Deering is based on lies. While Lizzie had previously trusted Deering and saw him in an idealized light, this revelation elicits distrust and suspicion in Lizzie towards her husband. 

3 years after Lizzie’s letters aren’t returned, the two met secretly. Lizzie pretends to have never thought of Deering during their time apart. However, it is later revealed that she has thought of him and Deering has gone broke and is too embarrassed to return her letters. He saw each and one of them, calling them “beautiful”. Lizzie lies and said she’s not engaged. 

Key Line:

Lizzie sat silent, spellbound, as she listened, by the sudden evocation of Mr. Jackson Benn. He stood there again, between herself and Deering, perpendicular and reproachful, but less solid and sharply” (181)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Lizzie sees her ghost or Jackson Benn in Deering during their conversation. This might be a symbolism for guilt. Lizzie might’ve felt guilty or her conscience is reminding her that Jackson Benn should be in Deering’s position right now. 

It’s been 3 years since their last meeting done in secret. Ever since then, the pair has gotten married and started a family. Lizzie bought a house and is the ‘pants in the family’, paying for all the bills, and Deering’s debts. One day, Andora Macy, Lizzie’s son, and Lizzie herself found a bag filled with 10 letters she sent Deering, all unopened. The next pages are filled with Lizzie’s stream of consciousness leading to her confronting or being silent about her husband’s lies. 

Key Line:

He was so dependent on her, and they had been so happy
 together! The fact struck her as illogical, and even immoral, and
 yet she knew he had been happy with her. It never happened like that
 in novels: happiness "built on a lie" always crumbled, and buried
 the presumptuous architect beneath the ruins. According to the laws
 of every novel she had ever read, Deering, having deceived her once,
 would inevitably have gone on deceiving her. Yet she knew he had not
 gone on deceiving her. 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Deering might be dependent on her physically, but it is evident that Lizzie is dependent on him emotionally. “They had been so happy together!” Yes, on a foundation of lies. However that is reality that she needs to face. Situational irony is also at play when “Deering, having deceived her once, would inevitably have gone on deceiving her..”. Deering himself deceived his previous wife, what could possibly break his habit of deceiving women or his wife? Lizzie?

Key Line: He was so dependent on her, and they had been so happy
 together! The fact struck her as illogical, and even immoral, and
 yet she knew he had been happy with her. It never happened like that

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The literary device playing here is plot and in this case it is at the end. A twist ending of Deering's lies shows the flaws in the relationship. That even though they were happy, He was too dependent on her. Yet she knew even when the relationship was based off lies, he was happy.

Summary: Lizzie and Deering settle in a house at Neuilly with their friend - Andora Macy - who helped around the house, almost as if she takes on the role of governess. After recalling her bliss in that house, and actually living it after three years of being with Vincent Deering, she discovered the letters she wrote to him that were still sealed shut. She experiences episodes of complete anger and anxiety, which cripple away to sadness and despair, which eventually transforms to an understanding of sacrifice and love. Her anxiety shifts from one form into another, and at the end, she does nothing to confront Deering about her letters. She takes the "high road." 

 

Key Line: "in this last wide flash of pity and initiation, that, as a solid marble may be made out of worthless scraps of mortar, glass, and pebbles, so out of mean mixed substances may be fashioned a love that will bear the stress of life." 

 

Commentary: This gigantic simile essentially summarizes the entire story, that the main theme of struggling has led her up to this moment: in which she, Lizzie West, no longer is the poor girl who fell flat for any experience which she could romanticize in her head. She is a woman now. And she understands that nothing can ever be perfect, but she'll hold on to her days of love with Deering. The days that she'll cherish to "fashion a love that will bear the stress of life." 

 

Key lines: “she had a sudden trembling vision of their three years together. Those years were her whole life; everything before them has been colourless and unconscious, like the blind life of the plant before it reaches the surface of the soil.”

 

The statement showed how impactful this revelation has on her and the entirety of her life. She takes much pride in the 3 recent years, and believed that it was the years that actually matters to her. Which shows how much significance this plot twist has on her life, as Edith Wharton uses simile to describe its impact. Stating that the years before was like a “blind life”. She shows its importance and shows the audience that these 3 crucial years were based on a lie, a lie in the foundation of their relationship and Lizzies’ life.

Key Line: "I have the pleasure of knowing Miss West," said Vincent Deering with a smile

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):  Since Vincent Deering was smiling, it seems that he knew that he would meet Lizzie that day. He does not seem fazed and not guilty in any way for leaving Lizzie hanging.

 

Key line: “Could anyone look in the Medusa’s face and live?”

 

Commentary: This is an allusion to the Greek goddess, Medusa. If anyone look at her in the eye, he/she will be turned to stone. Here, Medusa represents the negative side of reality. All this time, Lizzie has been looking at the bright side of things, only seeing Deering as her hero. Popping up the question, if she faces the truth, could she have survived? Since in the end, readers see how Lizzie still accepted Deering and called him the man who she loved. 

Key Line: 

“And she now saw that the fact of her letters--her unanswered letters--having, on his own assurance, "meant so much to him had been the basis on which this beautiful fabric was reared” (187). 

 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): 

The letters is a physical object which serves as the symbolism of Lizzie’s love towards Deering. Deering’s lies and false claim to reading the “Beautiful” words was the reason as to why Lizzie decided to be with him. His betrayal stir Lizzie’s emotion and trust, as Lizzie pored her feelings and emotion towards the Letters, showing how with Deering not reading her letter is basically disregarding her love. 

Key Line: "She was still Lizzie West, and he was still Vincent Deering; but the Styx rolled between them, and she saw his face through its fog." (Page 177)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Wharton includes a well-described stream of consciousness for Lizzie which effectively shows how Lizzie still manages to make her own delusional assumptions regarding Deering even though he does not give her enough information to make up the complete story. 

Key Line: “It’s not true that I’m engaged!” she broke out. They were the last words she had meant to utter; they were hardly related to her conscious thoughts; but she felt her whole will suddenly gathered up in the irrepressible impulse to repudiate and fling away from her forever the spectral claim of Mr. Jackson Benn. (182)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie denying that she was engaged shows how she still wants to be with Vincent even after he hurt her. And stating that she would “fling away” from Jackson means that she didn’t care about him anymore. The only one she has in her heart at that moment was only Vincent Deering.

Key Line:

She hardly remembered the time when she had been without
 that fear; it was second nature now, and it kept her on her feet
 when other incentives might have failed. In the blankness of her
 misery shefelt no dread of death; but the horror of being ill and
 "dependent" was in her blood.

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Wharton portrayed “dependent” as a fear for Lizzie. The diction shows great representation of Lizzies feelings as well as the limited options for women. The norm of having women rely on man is potrayed showing how women are reliant and vulnerable compared to man.

Key Line: “And she now saw that the fact of her letters--her unanswered letters--having, on his own assurance, "meant so much" to him, had been the basis on which this beautiful fabric was reared” (Page 187)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): The letters that Lizzie sent to Deering symbolises Lizzie's love to Deering. In this case, it is destro

Lizzie agrees on meeting Mr Deering privately. They recalled what happened over the past 3 years. Mr Deering explained that he cherishes Lizzie’s letters although he does not reply to them because he is ashamed  of his current circumstance. During his time in America, he lost his property and fell into poverty and debts. 

Key Line:

“… I was a pauper, that my wife’s money was gone, and that I could earn—I’ve so little gift that way!—was barely enough to keep Juliet clothed and educated. It was as if an iron door had been suddenly locked and barred between us” 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Edith Wharton is portraying the theme of gender roles through the responsibility and income Deering felt obligated to have. From this passage, we can observe how Deering wants to be the ‘man’ and bread winner of the family, however is unable to do so. Ironically, this passage also reveals a reversed gender role, revealing how Deering has been living on his wife’s money and wealth. 

Flashfoward to three years later, Lizzie and Mr Deering married and started their own family. One day Androa Macy, Lizzie and her son were playing when they found a beaded bag. However, inside the bag, they found the letters Lizzie wrote years ago. The letters were unopened and Lizzie realized that Mr.Deering have been lying all along. The passage ends with Lizzie battling an inner conflict, whether she will comfront and break up with Mr Deering or ignore his lies. 

Key Line:

“she wanted only one thing- the life she has been living before she had given her baby the embroidered bag to play with.”

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Love blind Lizzie from seeing the dark side of their relationship. She ignores the fact that their relationship is built on lies and deceit, and chooses to enjoy the temporary bliss from being with Mr Deering. 

Key Line:  Try as she would, she could not see herself and the child away from Deering. But that, of course, was because of her nervous weakness. (188)

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Even after being hurt more than once by Deering, Lizzie still can’t let him go. This shows that Deering in fact is her weakness, something that she could not live without. Edith shows just how much love could affect the sanity of a person through Lizzie's toxic relationship with Deering.

Key Line: “Now they had been tossed down helter-skelter among the rubbish there on the floor, and had themselves turned to rubbish like the rest” (186). 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device): Lizzie’s thoughts and emotions has been tossed down to the floor in a disorderly state, among the rubbish on the floor which is also the results of Deering’s doing. The revelation of Deering’s deceit in order to win Lizzie’s favor has thrown Lizzie’s once organized and delicate feelings into a disarray as it turns out that the basis of their marriage has been a lie all along, spiralling conflict inside her. Her internal conflict is further illustrated through the stream of consciousness that fills up a huge chunk of the last part within the chapter

Key Line:

She hardly remembered the time when she had been without
 that fear; it was second nature now, and it kept her on her feet
 when other incentives might have failed. In the blankness of her
 misery shefelt no dread of death; but the horror of being ill and
 "dependent" was in her blood.

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

Wharton portrayed “dependent” as a fear for Lizzie. The diction shows great representation of Lizzies feelings as well as the limited options for women. The norm of having women rely on man is potrayed showing how women are reliant and vulnerable compared to man.

Key Line:

“And she now saw that the fact of her letters--her unanswered letters--having, on his own assurance, "meant so much to him had been the basis on which this beautiful fabric was reared” (187). 

Commentary (connect the two, add a literary device):

The letters is a physical object which serves as the symbolism of Lizzie’s love towards Deering. Deering’s lies and false claim to reading the “Beautiful” words was the reason as to why Lizzie decided to be with him. His betrayal stir Lizzie’s emotion and trust, as Lizzie pored her feelings and emotion towards the Letters, showing how with Deering not reading her letter is basically disregarding her love. 

Key Line: “… she had dramatized their relation, exaggerated her own part in it, presumed, forsooth, to share the front of the stage with him, instead of being content to serve as a scenery or a chorus” (174)

Commentary: In this line, Edith Wharton uses uses the metaphor of ‘sharing a stage’, to emphasize Lizzie’s belittlement in their relationship and the importance of Mr. Deering as the one in control of the spotlight. Lizzie was meant to serve as a scenery or chorus that harmonizes with the masterpiece, the diction Wharton uses shadow the role of women as supporters of men. 

Key Line: "Their very emptiness made her strain to pack them with transient sensations: she was like the possessor of an unfurnished house, with random furniture and bric-a-brac perpetually pouring in “on approval””(176)

Commentary: After gaining her riches, she later learns the materialistic end of being an elite. Edith Wharton uses a simile to compare Lizzie with an owner of an unfurnished house to describe Lizzie’s lifeless lifestyle that consists of lavish luncheons with the etiquettes of an elite lady. Edith describes becoming an elite as superficial and materialistic compared to her previous life before her riches, which Edith describes with emotion and beauty. 

Key Line: “…they were hardly related to her conscious thoughts; but she felt her whole will suddenly gathered up in the irrepressible impulse to repudiate and fling away from her forever the spectral claim of Mr. Jackson Benn.” (182)

Commentary: After denying her engagement, the biased narrative follows Lizzie’s stream of consciousness regarding her impulsive decision. Edith Wharton uses diction to describe Mr. Jackson Benn’s engagement as simply as a spectral claim meaning that it is ghost like. This emphasizes her infatuation with Mr. Deering and how she saw this as an opportunity to restart her superficial life as a Parisian elite. 

Key Line: “Could anyone look in the Medusa’s face and live?” (188)

Commentary: Medusa is famously known in greek mythology for her deadly looks that would turn a person into stone. Edith Wharton alludes to the Greek goddess as a symbolistic representation of Lizzie’s gloomy reality about Mr. Deering. Throughout the entirety of the story, the biased narrative described Mr. Deering with high values and importance. Mr. Deering was forgiven through his mistakes and was always given the benefit of the doubt by Lizzie, but her discovery of her letters makes things clearer for her. Only now is Mr. Deering revealed his true self, and Edith Wharton uses Medusa to show how Lizzie would face this situation and live through it.