What happens in chapter nine of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton shocks me, but also strangely perplexes me. It is the case of the letters. It just all seems so strange to me. This woman comes to the door and is so mysterious about everything it seems like. Correct me if I am wrong, but, it seems to me that the letters have something to do with Mrs. Dorset and Seldon having some sort of relationship. Mrs. Dorset is married, which leads me to believe that it is the sort of relationship that no husband should be very fond of. I could be incorrect, though. This is just my impression of it.

 The way Lily talks about it and thinks to herself about the collection. Also, I read "Men do not, at worst, suffer much from such exposure" (Wharton 85). I feel like today, if a scandal like this arose, the man would not get any blame and the woman would get all of the shame. So this makes me believe more that it is about a woman cheating. Again, I could be completely incorrect about the whole ordeal--this is just my first impression of what I have been reading so far.