Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth presents the reader with a comprehensive tour through New York’s early twentieth-century aristocracy. The novel closely follows Lily Bart and her desperate, scrambled attempts to gain ground and secure a position and among the ultra-rich. Many of Lily’s escapades orbit around Lawrence Selden, a well-to-do lawyer who has taken a fancy to her empty but intriguing person. At one point he even makes plans to propose marriage. While at times it seems Lawrence Selden may be seeking Lily Bart’s affections, his character is nothing more than an extension of Wharton’s bitter resentment towards everything that Lily’s character epitomizes, the value that high society had placed on wealth and physical beauty.
Wharton paints a character devoid of any meaningful virtues, while simultaneously using Selden to demonstrate how others relate to and view depthless vanity. In her “The Daughter’s Dilemma: Psychoanalytic Interpretation and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth”, Ellie Sullivan implies that beauty is the essence of a woman, “Lily incarnates in a static manner…what Edith Wharton herself must have taken to be the essence of a woman-beauty.” (Pg 469) This idea of physical beauty defining the woman, however, is exactly what Wharton is depreciating through Lily and Selden. Throughout the novel, Lily’s beauty is noted and praised by friends and admirers, but her person is empty and her life tragic. The author makes a poor example of Lily and leaves the reader frustrated and annoyed with her beauty and resulting character flaws. Wharton never intended for Selden to end up with Lily; rather, she wanted to punish Lily’s character by damaging her pride and leaving her with nothing. She needed something valuable to take from Lily in the end, as punishment for being who she is. “But the hour sped on and Selden did not come…She understood now that he was never coming” (pg 177). Wharton is teaching a lesson through Lily’s story. She shows that proper etiquette and extraordinary gook looks, does not determine or guarantee anything.
Despite the fancy he has taken to her, Selden too does not regard physical beauty in itself as a virtue or “the essence of a woman-beauty”. This is evident towards the beginning of the novel when Wharton writes, “He had a confused sense that she (Lily) must have cost a great deal to make…He was aware that the qualities distinguishing her from the herd of her sex were chiefly external.” (Pg. 27) Selden looks down on Lily for her dependence on beauty and her underlying but obvious motives of marriage. Their relationship is based solely on physical appearance, witty banter, and pride. Selden often remarks at her beauty, and perhaps in a way makes him thinks he cares for her; but his feelings run shallow, demonstrated by his easy and instantaneous disregard for any past feelings or possible future he had with her.
Both Selden and Wharton imply that Lily’s real person never developed but was usurped and then tarnished by her beauty. Later in her essay, Sullivan states, “But Lily is ‘mentally paralyzed’ in not knowing how to put her beauty to use in her search for love, a husband, money, a protector, a sponsor, even a career.” (Pg 469) Had Lily been simple looking, her life and relationships would be of a completely different nature, sincere and free of the tarnish that her vanity introduces. In “Death by Speculating: Deconstructing” by Margot Norris likens Lily to a portrait, “But the deeper implication is that the tableau’s “realism” derives from the fact that Lily never looks like a “real” woman at all, that she always looks like a portrait of a woman…” (Pg 441) This statement reveals much about Lily’s character. The real Lily is limited, a woman who has been forever trying to imitate the well to do and convince them she is of their class. The fact that her mother was originally poor and after marriage tried very hard to keep up appearances influences Lily, who appears to be imitating her mother who is imitating the upper class. This cycle goes on and on, reinstating the irony of the social hierarchy, as Lily knows it.
Throughout the novel, the reader sees Lily make one poor, capricious decision after another, largely due to the idea that her worth and future lay solely in her beauty. Lily assumes that her good looks will get her what she wants but is repeatedly met with failure in her conquests. “But could she not trust to her beauty to bridge it over…” (Pg 173) First, we see her beauty and resulting character deter Selden from proposing marriage, and later Wharton attributes Lily’s beauty as the source of her trouble with Mr. Trenor. Had Lily been plain looking and convinced Trenor to help her out financially because she was a friend of the family, he probably would not have expected sexual favors in return; but because Lily is beautiful and uses that as leverage in dealing with Trenor, he assumes she is offering herself in return, which ultimately leads to her demise.
Both Wharton and Selden resent Lily’s good looks and ability to rely on them for a livelihood and station. While Wharton is able to give us all of the angles of Lily’s thoughts and her inner struggles, Selden provides an outsiders perspective the reader can relate to. Wharton obviously loathed the characteristics defining Lily’s person and uses Selden to furtively pass her ideas on to the reader.
Wharton paints a character devoid of any meaningful virtues, while simultaneously using Selden to demonstrate how others relate to and view depthless vanity. In her “The Daughter’s Dilemma: Psychoanalytic Interpretation and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth”, Ellie Sullivan implies that beauty is the essence of a woman, “Lily incarnates in a static manner…what Edith Wharton herself must have taken to be the essence of a woman-beauty.” (Pg 469) This idea of physical beauty defining the woman, however, is exactly what Wharton is depreciating through Lily and Selden. Throughout the novel, Lily’s beauty is noted and praised by friends and admirers, but her person is empty and her life tragic. The author makes a poor example of Lily and leaves the reader frustrated and annoyed with her beauty and resulting character flaws. Wharton never intended for Selden to end up with Lily; rather, she wanted to punish Lily’s character by damaging her pride and leaving her with nothing. She needed something valuable to take from Lily in the end, as punishment for being who she is. “But the hour sped on and Selden did not come…She understood now that he was never coming” (pg 177). Wharton is teaching a lesson through Lily’s story. She shows that proper etiquette and extraordinary gook looks, does not determine or guarantee anything.
Despite the fancy he has taken to her, Selden too does not regard physical beauty in itself as a virtue or “the essence of a woman-beauty”. This is evident towards the beginning of the novel when Wharton writes, “He had a confused sense that she (Lily) must have cost a great deal to make…He was aware that the qualities distinguishing her from the herd of her sex were chiefly external.” (Pg. 27) Selden looks down on Lily for her dependence on beauty and her underlying but obvious motives of marriage. Their relationship is based solely on physical appearance, witty banter, and pride. Selden often remarks at her beauty, and perhaps in a way makes him thinks he cares for her; but his feelings run shallow, demonstrated by his easy and instantaneous disregard for any past feelings or possible future he had with her.
Both Selden and Wharton imply that Lily’s real person never developed but was usurped and then tarnished by her beauty. Later in her essay, Sullivan states, “But Lily is ‘mentally paralyzed’ in not knowing how to put her beauty to use in her search for love, a husband, money, a protector, a sponsor, even a career.” (Pg 469) Had Lily been simple looking, her life and relationships would be of a completely different nature, sincere and free of the tarnish that her vanity introduces. In “Death by Speculating: Deconstructing” by Margot Norris likens Lily to a portrait, “But the deeper implication is that the tableau’s “realism” derives from the fact that Lily never looks like a “real” woman at all, that she always looks like a portrait of a woman…” (Pg 441) This statement reveals much about Lily’s character. The real Lily is limited, a woman who has been forever trying to imitate the well to do and convince them she is of their class. The fact that her mother was originally poor and after marriage tried very hard to keep up appearances influences Lily, who appears to be imitating her mother who is imitating the upper class. This cycle goes on and on, reinstating the irony of the social hierarchy, as Lily knows it.
Throughout the novel, the reader sees Lily make one poor, capricious decision after another, largely due to the idea that her worth and future lay solely in her beauty. Lily assumes that her good looks will get her what she wants but is repeatedly met with failure in her conquests. “But could she not trust to her beauty to bridge it over…” (Pg 173) First, we see her beauty and resulting character deter Selden from proposing marriage, and later Wharton attributes Lily’s beauty as the source of her trouble with Mr. Trenor. Had Lily been plain looking and convinced Trenor to help her out financially because she was a friend of the family, he probably would not have expected sexual favors in return; but because Lily is beautiful and uses that as leverage in dealing with Trenor, he assumes she is offering herself in return, which ultimately leads to her demise.
Both Wharton and Selden resent Lily’s good looks and ability to rely on them for a livelihood and station. While Wharton is able to give us all of the angles of Lily’s thoughts and her inner struggles, Selden provides an outsiders perspective the reader can relate to. Wharton obviously loathed the characteristics defining Lily’s person and uses Selden to furtively pass her ideas on to the reader.
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