The chapter begins with Lily and Selden venturing out-of-doors for a prolonged conversation. The exhilaration she feels is compared to the only time Lily felt that she had been in love, with Herbert Melson. A man possessing good looks but little income, Melson eventually married an older sister of Gwen. Lily tempers her nostalgia by acknowledging that the handsome young man aged, put on weight, and became a man who incessantly related anecdotes about his children.
Wharton describes Selden as an intellectual of dark features and impressive height. Lily admires him because he possesses a sense of superiority over the mannerisms of the wealthy. He tells Lily that he has come to the Trenors' party specifically to see her.
Lily intends to use Selden's presence as a prop for her intentions for Gryce. She supposes that spending time with Selden will either relate to Gryce that she is not desperate for his proposal, or it will incite Gryce to jealousy. Earlier that day, Lily had feigned a debilitating headache as a reason to miss an afternoon automobile drive to the Van Osburghs' estate. The headache was intended to elicit Gryce's sympathy, a ploy that Selden observed with much amusement.
The conversation between Lily and Selden revolves around their respective definitions of success. For Lily, it is "to get as much as one can out of life." For Selden, it is personal freedom. The couple discusses money. Selden states that, for the rich, money is like air; removed from the comfort of their surroundings, the wealthy gasp like fish out of water. Lily responds that, as an individual adverse to the ways of the rich, he spends much time socializing with them.
