House of Mirth - Marriage

The descriptions of Miss Bart attempting to woo Mr. Percy Gryce are incredible. It's like marriage and the becoming of being married is an extreme sport. The boredom that she endures on the train to the Trenor's party - all in the name of wooing a man who can sustain her expensive lifestyle. I love the way that she talks about other women not having the "skill nor the patience to effect his capture"(26). It's like she's trying to psyche herself up, trying to replenish her confidence. How she is "almost sure she had 'landed' him; a few days' work and she would win her reward" (29). I kind of feel bad for her - working so hard to convince someone with whom she doesn't even have the slightest emotional connection. Sustaining her lifestyle must be very important if she is to go to all measures to secure it.