Foreshadowing of Lily's Death

From the moment at the pharmacy when Lily purchases her sleeping the pills, the reader is given a few signs suggesting that her prescription may be used to overdose and sleep eternally. The scene at the pharmacy on page 305 describes how the medicine is likely to be ultimately used. Here begins the excerpt: "The clerk had read the prescription without comment, but in the act of handing out the bottle he paused. 'You don't want to increase the dose, you know', he remarked. Lily's heart contracted. What did he mean by looking at her in this way? 'Of course not', she murmured, holding out her hand. 'That's all right; it's a queer-acting drug. A drop or two more, and off you go; the doctors don't know why." (305) In this scene it almost seems that the pharmacist is aware that Lily may abuse her prescription. It is possible that her heart rate increased because she was scared of what was going to come. She is also scared that the pharmacist may have noticed her final intentions for these drugs. The impulses and senses felt by Lily Bart and the pharmacist during this interaction foreshadow the coming of something unwanted.