Upon my first reading of the novel The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I meet two characters: Selden and Miss Lily Bart. I believe both of them to be both dynamic and round characters in the story. They both appear to have multiple dimensions to their personalities, and I predict they will change over the course of the novel.

 The relationship between these two characters appears to be one from a childhood. To me, it seems like they have a playful, almost semi-flirtatious banter throughout the opening dialogue. They know a lot about each other and speak as if they definitely are not new acquaintances, but have some sort of history or background together. For example, Selden asks about a potential husband that Lily once had and she asks about his book collecting.

 Lily seems shallow and almost self-centered. She seems to put a great emphasis on wealth, status, and what others may think about her. I see these traits in Lily when she expresses feelings like "...you know I am horribly poor -- and very expensive. I must have a great deal of money" (Wharton, 6). Her relationship with Selden seems complicated, but she gives off a feel of ignoring him. It's like she knows that he seems to like her, but still flirts a little bit. She still knows he will be there to help pass time when she misses her train.