The House Of Mirth: Character Analysis

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (New Living Translation, Luke 12:48). In The House of Mirth, Lily Bart, a 29-year-old member of society, was not given much money after the death of her parents. However, she was entrusted with “inherited obligations” (Wharton 32), an awareness of the expected societal role she must fulfill, and an expectation to utilize her beauty to assure a secure future. Lily’s divergence from the unspoken rules of the social elite ultimately brought her downfall.
Upon the death of her parents, Lily’s wealthy, widowed Aunt, Mrs. Peniston, agreed to take Lily into her home, giving her security until she married. This act of familial obligation came with an unspoken agreement that Lily would conduct herself in a proper manner, according to Mrs. Peniston’s standards. Mrs. Peniston was to leave her full inheritance to Lily when the time came, but she discovered her requirements had not been met. She learned of talk about Lily among society members and thought, “It was horrible of a young girl to let herself be talked about; however unfounded the

He offered help by means of financial freedom if she would marry him. His requirements were stated up front and clearly made known to Lily. His expectation was that Lily would propel his own social status to an upper level that he desired. However, Lily never accepted Rosedale’s offers because he did not meet her superior standards according to the attitudes she learned in society. Her downfall here was that she was aligned with the same attitudes of society that ultimately condemned her and shunned her from its rank. Just as others required much from her, she required much in the form of an acceptable status, which Rosedale could not offer her, as he did not meet the criteria defined by the established social