The House of Mirth Essays

The Miriam Webster Dictionary describes mirth as a, “Gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter.” This poses the question why would Edith Wharton title her work, House of Mirth when the story is anything but cheerful? Throughout the book we watch the downfall of the main character Lily Bart as she falls down the social ladder of the early twentieth century. As she finally realizes she will never be the person that she wants to be, Lily ultimately reaches the end of her life by overdosing

Wharton’s novel The House of Mirth portrays the downfall of Lilly Bart ……..consumed with superficial materialistic . Wharton’s uses Lily’s narrative to metaphorically highlight how gender oppression and repression results in dual identity as “masked social performance” that leads to her death as the ultimate answer. In other words,

The novel, House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, documents the struggles of beautiful Lily Barton as she attempts to both find suitable husband and be accepted into New York City’s elite class during the turn of the nineteenth century. Being a part of this class herself, Wharton uses this novel to comment on the true nature of the rigid social hierarchy that dictated one’s survival during this time period. Using her plethora of different characters as examples, Wharton states that one’s place in this

Edith Wharton’s novel The House of Mirth is predominantly examined by critics in terms of literary Naturalism. The purpose of this analysis is to compare two critical approaches to Naturalism in The House of Mirth by literary critics Carol Singley and Walter Benn Michaels. Carol Singley analyses the theme of Naturalism within the concept of religion and science in her book Edith Wharton: Matters of Mind and Spirit, while Walter Benn Michaels assesses the Naturalism of the novel from an aspect of

I thought this was an interesting read because it gave insight to what it might have been like in the twentieth century. The House of Mirth was written by Edith Wharton, who was very big into naturalism. The story revolves around the female lead character, Lily Bart, and her struggle to find what she deems as happiness. Through Lily’s story we see what it was like to be a woman and the importance of marriage and social status in the time period. In our class discussion we brought up how the early

In Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, the protagonist, Lily Bart loses her fortune and her parents at the formative age of nineteen. Lily relies on the memory of her parents to secure herself a luxurious life with a wealthy socialite husband, but her memory is stagnant and incomplete. Lily’s understanding of men does not extend far past the allure of her beauty for two reasons: her mother overemphasized the power of beauty and Mr. Bart had a negligible presence in her life. Lily perpetually allows prospective

In nineteenth century Louisiana, Creole’s lived by strict rules to explain how Creole household’s run: “The man ruled his household and his wife was considered part of his property. He was permitted to take a[nother] mistress if he liked, though his wife was expected to remain faithful” (Kosewick 3). The wives of the household are also “expected to be of good character” and “loyal, passive, innocent lovers”, despite the fact that their husband can take another woman of his liking out and the wife

speculators, shady business practices, and scandal-plagued politics. Kate chopin and Henrik Ibsen were two controversial authors who showcased all the hidden aspects of society that no one wanted to discuss infidelity, and gender roles. In A Doll's House Nora ,the protagonist, struggles with finding herself and acceptance within the gender roles put on her by society. In The Awakening

into his home under false pretenses.” Women were meant to serve male desire, but Gabler-Hover and Plate state that the “language in The House of Mirth (for Lily) is controlled by men. Thus, she is blocked from fulfilling her desires. Her blockage from success is represented in Wharton’s water imagery that refers to drowning. “Water imagery in The House of Mirth symbolizes social regression in a Darwinian sense, most vividly represented in the thoughts of Lily’s aunt, Mrs. Peniston:

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” or so they say. “The House of Mirth” by Edith Wharton, and “Persuasion” by Jane Austen have very similar themes that seem to resonate with every page turned. Like frogs leaping out of a pond, themes of feminism, family, marriage, and social status leap from the pages of these classic novels. One theme, in particular, that surrounds both novels is beauty. Wharton and Austen, although different authors from different parts of the world, created their respective

In his article entitled, “The Naturalism of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth” Donald Pizer discusses Wharton’s focus of naturalism in her novel, The House of Mirth. Pizer argues, “The House of Mirth may best be read as a form of naturalistic fiction” (241). Though some people disagree on what type of naturalism Wharton’s novel is, Pizer states “Whether Lily’s fate is shaped by the capitalistic exchange values of her society or by its patriarchal power structure or by some variation of these two

While reading the novel The House of Mirth we can see that all Lily Bart wants out of life is someone she can marry who has money. Lily knows that in order for her to marry someone with money that she should marry Mr. Gryce, who is a wealthy man and a good suitor for her. Lily will do anything in her power to try and win over Mr. Gryce so he will marry her. She tries to take it slow so that she won't mess anything up. While finally she walks with Mr. Seldon and almost admits her love for him. While

The House of Mirth written by Edith Wharton explores the harsh realities of the society surrounding New York City in the late 1800s. Primarily facing the threat of scandal in the midst of attempting to preserve her public image in New York’s elite social class, Lily Bart is withering away on the marriage market while confronting the constant question: marry for love or marry for money? Precisely focusing on a very distinct world, New York City’s wealthy society in the 1800s, Edith Wharton displays

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth is a nineteenth-century novel about Lily Bart, a single woman who was well-born but struggling with her finances, and her path to marriage in high society Old New York. One of the struggles that Lily faces is with gambling, which causes trouble for her because she does not have enough money to gamble and her society is disgraced and offended by gambling. Lily Bart defies the norms of Old New York society by gambling and risk-taking and the consequences of her choices

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

Dear Mr. Poduska, I am writing this letter to recommend that the book The House Of Mirth, written by Edith Wharton, be considered for integration into the English 10 Honors reading curriculum. Personally, I would recommend that it became a requirement before entering English 10 Honors and be read in the summer after freshmen year. The reasoning is that this story has a plot in which the main character attempts to defy several societal expectations and in trying to emerge successful she faces rejection

Edith Wharton, an exceptional American novelist, portrays the impact of materialistic and superficial societal ambitions in her two novels, The House of Mirth (1905) and The Custom of the Country (1913). Wharton captivates the increasing allure of fashion and beauty during the late 1800s and early 1900s by newly-wealthy New Yorkers. In doing so, she makes clear the damaging relationship between mothers and children in which these materialistic and superficial ambitions of mothers shine through. Wharton

looking for it and being unable to find it. This is true for that of Lily Bart in The House of Mirth written by Edith Wharton. Lily is not content with the life she now lives and craves an independent lifestyle where she does not have to rely on others for social and financial support. Yet by further analyzing the text Lily’s search for independence leads to her ultimate demise. In the first chapters of The House of Mirth Wharton establishes various conditions that Lily desires. She is in search of wealth

The House of Mirth Society identified a person based on their economical stability during the early nineteenth hundredths. But for women, money was their way of being known or recognized since women were not acknowledged at this time. In The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton includes the character of Lily Bart as determined in finding a wealthy husband in order to portray how during the nineteenth hundredths, a woman's main interest is how the economic stability drives their marriage status. For

The House of Mirth, written by Edith Wharton, chronicles the ups and downs of Lily Barts’s life as she struggles to find her happiness, but ultimately ends tragically with her death. Michael Tavel Clarke gave his critical analysis of the novel in his article, Between Wall Street and Fifth Avenue: Class and Status in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth. The article was published in the spring of 2016. In his article Clarke points out the limits that marxist criticism has when it analyzes Wharton’s