Women's Role In The House Of Mirth

Edith Wharton portrays many of the women, such as the protagonist, Lily Bart, as dependent on a man’s power and money in her novel The House of Mirth. The women are depicted as helpless, in a sense, without a husband to support them. This depiction, however, is often created by the women themselves. Though Lily has practically any man in the palm of her hand, she spends much of her life in search of a husband to provide her with wealth and a high role in society, which eventually lead to her debt, descension down the social ladder, and death.
Lily Bart, along with many other women in the upper class, believes that she must be supported by a man in order to remain in her social “circle.” This belief is seen often throughout the novel, such as her conversation with Lawrence Selden - revealing women’s role in society and how different it is than that of a man’s role.

Lily finds these standards to be unfair at times - such as the difference between men and women’s living conditions. When discussing Selden’s flat, Lily states, “‘How delicious to have a place like this all to one’s self! What a miserable thing it is to be a woman.’ … ‘Even women,’ he said, ‘have been able to enjoy the privileges of a flat.’ ‘Oh, governesses - or widows. But not girls - not poor miserable, marriageable girls” (9). Although Lily follows these rules when associating with bachelors and people within her circle, Lily often partakes in activities that go against the rules, such as smoking, being with a man without supervision, borrowing money from a married man, living alone, working a lower class job, etc. Despite the fact that Lily does not