House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.
In this section of the book, Lily has an epiphany about her view of wealth. She initially saw wealth as a way to gauge status. Lily realizes the good that wealth could do through charity, whereas " she had never before thought of doing good with the wealth she had so often dreamed of possessing, but now her horizon was enlarged by the vision of a prodigal philanthropy" (Wharton, 91). This new realization goes against everything that Lily's mother taught her. Lily's new attitude differs greatly from her old attitude from when she had a conversation with Selden where she discussed her plans to use her wealth to do very little. Selden challenged her to use her wealth for more than just living in luxury. Selden showed her that wealth was not happiness, just a channel to attain happiness. Money was just one way of making a difference and making her name known to the public. This new view of wealth marks a drastic change in Lily Bart's personality in that she is separating herself from the vanity and shallowness that her mother taught her in exchange for an appreciation of making ones own way and living modestly much like Mr. Selden. Perhaps now that Lily has an altered view of what wealth can do for her and her desire to be wealthy had died down, her relationship with Selden can blossom.
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