The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

1051 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Victorian upper class wealth

Nature verses nurture is an ongoing debate between people for centuries now. Some believe that a person is born with certain traits and characteristics that will remain true for the rest of their life. Others believe that every person is born into the world with a blank slate that can be mold into an image of whichever the parent desired it to be. In the case of Lily Bart, the protagonist in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, the characterization which was placed upon her by Wharton made her eventual descent in society inevitable. Her upbringing, indecisiveness, and morality do not allow her to seize the opportunities for marriage which ultimately ended in her death at the end of the novel.
Lily Bart’s background from a modest family sets the foundation for her values and goals in life. Her upbringing is an important characterization device that the author uses. Wharton describes Lily’s household as a place in which “no one ever dined at home unless there was ‘company’” (32). In this setting, Wharton shows that the house is greatly rule by the need for appearances. While Lily’s mother is vigorous in her effort to save money, there never seem to be enough money. Even so, Wharton shows that the upbringing under the influence of her mother lead Lily to develops a taste for splendor and distaste for dinginess: “…Lily imbibed the idea that if people lived like pigs it was from choice, and through the lack of any proper standard of conduct. This gave her a sense of reflected superiority, and she did not need Mrs. Bart’s comments on the family frumps and misers to foster her naturally lively taste for splendour” (34). This desire for splendor ultimately led to her downfall because she is unable to choose between her desire and her fe...

... middle of paper ...

...ride does not allow her to stoop down to Bertha’s level. Through the treatment of the letters, Wharton characterizes Lily Bart as a moral-conscious character who is unable to blackmail people into getting what she wants. The morality of Lily’s character is set up for failure in a society that unquestioningly accepts the manipulations of its people.
Edith Wharton creates Lily as a character that is unable to lower herself to society’s manipulations in The House of Mirth through her characteristics and flaws. Her mother’s teaching and her father’s role in her life make Lily believes that money was everything, and a husband only serves as an economic stability; therefore, love is not important. Lily’s inability to control her feeling for Selden and blackmail Bertha Dorset lead to her social descend at the end of the novel, and a death that she could not escape from.

Show More
Related

  • The Art Of Forgiveness In Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the novel, as the reader is first introduced to Lily’s character, she comes across as an extremely negative young girl. While thinking about

    Read More

  • Juxtaposition between Mattie and Zeena in Ethan Frome

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the common cliché, ?don?t judge a book by its cover,? you never get a second chance to make a first impression, most first impressions are derived from appearance. Edith Wharton harshly juxtaposes the appearances of Mattie and Zeena, to such an extreme that it almost seems bias. From the beginning of the novel, Zeena is depicted as an old and ?repugnant? (46) housewife. Substantial background information is not given, nor causes for her worn out and ?bloodless? (53) demeanor. ?Though she was but seven years her husband?s senior, she was already an old woman.? (53) In harsh comparison, Mattie is portrayed as a youthful, vivacious woman, yet with natural beauty. This drastic juxtaposition is black and white, with no grey areas, just the strong Mattie and the feeble Zeena. However, the colors used to describe Mattie and Zeena are not black and white, they each ...

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome Essay

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting. Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causing his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night. Unfortunately, the night turns out to be a disastrous and uncomfortable evening. Neither Ethan nor Mattie speaks a word regarding their love for one another. Additionally, during their dinner, the pet cat leaps on the table and sends a pickle dish straight to the floor crashing into pieces. To make matters worse, the pickle dish is a favored wedding gift that is cherished by Zeena. Later, Zeena discovers it is broken and it sends her anger over the edge. Furious, Zeena demands for a more efficient “hired girl” to complete the tasks ar...

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome: a Chapter Analysis

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edith Wharton's tale of Ethan Frome is a classic story of hopeful romance ending in tragedy. We are introduced to Ethan as he's walking to pick up his wife's cousin Mattie, at a church social. On the way, we witness some of Ethan's thoughts about his life and the people in it. By the end of Chapter One, the readers begin to understand the way Ethan views himself, Mattie, and Zeena, and the way these characters might influence the events in the novel.

    Read More

  • The Witch Wins in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the small, desolate town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan Frome lives a life of poverty. Not only does he live hopelessly, but “he was a prisoner for life” to the economy (Ammons 2). A young engineer from outside of town narrates the beginning of the story. He develops a curiosity towards Ethan Frome and the smash-up that he hears about in bits and pieces. Later, due to a terrible winter storm that caused the snow itself to seem like “a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer” (Wharton 20), the narrator is forced to stay the night at Frome’s. As he enters the unfamiliar house, the story flashes back twenty-four years to Ethan Frome’s young life. Living out his life with Zenobia Frome, his hypochondriac of a wife whom he does not love, Ethan has nowhere to turn for a glance at happiness. But when Zenobia’s, or Zeena’s, young cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to care for her, Ethan falls in love with the young aid. Mattie is Ethan’s sole light in life and “she is in contrast to everything in Starkfield; her feelings bubble near the surface” (Bernard 2). All through the novella, the two young lovers hide their feelings towards each other. When they finally let out their true emotions to each other in the end, the consequence is an unforeseen one. Throughout Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton portrays a twisted fairy tale similar to the story of Snow White with the traditional characters, but without a happy ending to show that in a bleak and stark reality, the beautiful and enchanting maiden could become the witch.

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome Classic War Between Passion And Responsibility

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Set in 1881 Starkfield, Massachusetts, Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome reveals a recurring theme in literature: “the classic war between a passion and responsibility.” In this novel, protagonist Ethan Frome confronts the demands of two private passions: his desire to become an engineer that conflicts with his moral duty to his family and his love for Mattie Silver that conflicts with his obligations to his wife Zeena. Inevitably placing the desires and well-being of his family before his own, Ethan experiences only “‘[s]ickness and trouble’” and “‘that’s what [he’s] had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping’” (12). The reader understands Ethan’s struggles when he abandons his studies at Worcester, when he considers running

    Read More

  • The Reading Experience In Ethan Frome, By Edith Wharton

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    The creative writing techniques that Wharton uses within her writing enhance the story and make it worth reading. Wharton is very descriptive in almost every aspect of her story. This gives the reader another element to the story rather than just reading dialogue or general descriptions. A point where Wharton gets descriptive, is when she starts to explain Frome’s house and how “ the image (of itself) presents of a life linked with the soil, and enclosing in itself the chief sources of warmth and nourishment, or whether merely because of the consolatory thought that it enables the dwellers in that harsh climate to get to their mornings’ work without facing the weather, it is certain that the ‘L’ rather the house itself seems to be the center, the actual hearth-stone of the New England farm” (Wharton 11). This shows how detailed Wharton can get. It not only gives the reader a g...

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome And The House Of Mirth, By Edith Wharton

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wharton’s parents raised her in aristocratic society. Her father, George supported the family working in real estate, while her mother Lucerita was a stay at home mom. Her mother was devoted to high society, and was unsupportive of her interests in writing. (Todd and Wetzel) Unlike her mother, Morton Fullerton supported Wharton. While in England, Wharton met Fullerton. As their relationship progressed, she became close friends with Katharine Fullerton. Katharine was Morton’s orphaned sister, that his family took in. (Witkosky) While Wharton was in England her husband was seeking “cures” for his depression. As portrayed in the novel, Ethan Frome’s wife Zeena was constantly seeking cures for her illness. Like Teddy, Zeena was isolated from society and kept to herself. Ethan’s wife was devoted to high society because she came from an aristocratic home. Therefore, Zeena never supported Ethan’s interest in becoming an engineer. Wharton’s mother was alike to Zeena when it came to how her life was lived. Ethan’s lover, Mattie Silver, was taken in by the Frome’s in the novel. She had no family who wanted her just like Katharine Fullerton. Mattie was raised by the Frome’s in a society she did not know how to adapt to because she was never taught how. “Mattie is attempting unsuccessfully to fit in a society she does not understand.”

    Read More

  • Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette

    4243 Words  | 9 Pages

    Eliza Wharton has sinned. She has also seduced, deceived, loved, and been had. With The Coquette Hannah Webster Foster uses Eliza as an allegory, the archetype of a woman gone wrong. To a twentieth century reader Eliza's fate seems over-dramatized, pathetic, perhaps even silly. She loved a man but circumstance dissuaded their marriage and forced them to establish a guilt-laden, whirlwind of a tryst that destroyed both of their lives. A twentieth century reader may have championed Sanford's divorce, she may have championed the affair, she may have championed Eliza's acceptance of Boyer's proposal. She may have thrown the book angrily at the floor, disgraced by the picture of ineffectual, trapped, female characters.

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edith Wharton, a famous author of many outstanding books, wrote a chaotic love story entitled Ethan Frome. The story took place in the wintery town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Wharton was a sophisticated young woman who found love in sitting down and holding people’s attention by way of a pen. Wharton wrote yet another thriller that told the tale of two love stricken people that barely found it possible to be together; which later forced them to fall into the temptation of love that cannot be controlled. Wharton had many different writing styles but for different books meant different needs. In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, frustration and loneliness play roles in disappointment while imagery, symbolism, and individual responsibility provide the novel with a tortuous plot.

    Read More

  • Objectification of Women in The House of Mirth

    2117 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lily Bart and her mother have been socially "ruined" in a sense because of the economic failures of their father and husband respectfully.  However, Lily's mother teaches her that she can still maintain a high social status if she marries well, i.e. a rich man. In fact, Lily's mother is known for making the most out of the least as she is "famous for the unlimited effect she produced on limited means" (Wharton 48).  In a society where women are considered valuable only for the appearance they present, it is impossible f...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Edith Wharton's The Other Two

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Like Alice, who divorced was twice. Another example of how Edith and this particular story is compares to her life is Alice’s daughter is sick with typhoid and when Edith was 10 she suffered from typhoid fever and almost died. Also like Lily and most children her age Edith Wharton also had a governess. Wharton’s main concept in the story was the theme of divorce and survival of the fittest. By having the other two men being around the current marriage and dealing with some of struggles of divorced and being able to survive New York’s

    Read More

  • Freedom In The Age Of Innocence By Edith Wharton

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characters in the novel get caught up in a frenzy of hate, scandal, and love. Newland Archer is a wealthy societal man who views his wife, May, as the reason for his unhappiness. In addition, Newland Archer get swept into the scandal and falls in love with Ellen, who he sees as a route to independence. Ellen Olenska, the cousin of May, brings a tornado of scandal to New York and becomes the center of criticism in society. In The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Archer and Ellen describe the desire for freedom in order to portray society as an oppressor.

    Read More

  • Expectations Of Edith Wharton

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    On January 24, 1862, Edith Wharton was born to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander in New York City. Wharton’s family were decedents of English and Dutch colonists who had made fortunes in shipping, selling and banking. Wharton, the youngest and only girl of 3 children, spoke 3 languages and was taught by a series of governesses. Because Wharton was taught only with the intention to provide her with the proper social skills needed to become a good wife, she began to read books from her father’s library, especially western culture books. At the age of 18 Edith Wharton feel in love with Walter Berry, but could not truly pursue the relationship because Berry was not from the same social class as Wharton, which in Old New York, was not socially allowed. However, in 1885 at the age of 23, Wharton married Edward Wharton who was 12 years older then her. Edward Wharton was a gentlemen and a sportsman from a well-established family in Philadelphia. Edward shared her love of travel and was acceptable in eyes of Edith’s parents. From the late 1880’s to 1902 Edward Wharton suffered from acute depression and at this time they stopped traveling and lived exclusively at “the Mount” – the home Edith Wharton designed in Lenox, Massachusetts. Edward Wharton’s depressed really put a strain on their relationship and in 1913 Edith Wharton divorced Edward Wharton. After the divorce Edith returned to writing, at this time she wrote a lot of books that often dealt with divorce, unhappy marriages, and free-spirited people who are trapped by social pressure.

    Read More

  • Femininity Through Views of Marriage In the House of Mirth

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the novel, Wharton introduces Lily Bart as an alluring and delicate woman with a desire to live a prosperous life. We also see that Lily recognizes that her solution to save herself from a life that “to her last breath she [means] to fight against” is marriage (39). In this novel, marriage is prevalent because, as said before, women used marriage to grant themselves a wealthier life. “In her youth, girls had not been supposed to require close supervision. They were generally assumed to be taken up with the legitimate business of courtship and marriage”(127). Lily understands that for her to marry a rich man and have a prosperous life, she would have to give up her privileges and affection. However, to love someone she has no affection toward is always a problem for her, especially when she has her love for money. This is why her duality keeps her from reaching her goal – she’s indecisiv...

    Read More

More about The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Open Document