Thoughts

     Now comes the part where I state my opinion of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.  Overall, it was a good novel.  Edith Wharton is a great author, and I definitely saw that in this book.  However,  I did get confused throughout the book.  There were many words that I did not know and had to look up. Not saying that that is a bad thing, but it did make my reading a little more harder.  Also, there were parts that just made me want to stop reading.  I felt as if I wasn't as into the book when there wasn't much dialogue going on.   I look forward to discussing this novel during class, so I can better understand it.  Also, at the end of the novel Wharton states that "in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear" (Wharton, 268).  I think that that word is love, but I am not entirely positive.  I feel like she should have said what the word was just so I had confirmation.  I would not necessarily recommend this novel to someone, but if someone asked me whether it was a good book or not, I would tell them that it was.  It just is not my type of novel that I like to read. 

The End

     As I finish The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I can't help but to have questions.  First, did she commit suicide or was it an accident? She knew the amount that she should take, but she went above it.  Second, I feel as though it is a little random to have the scene with Nettie.  Why did that have to be included?  Third, why did Lily not marry Selden?  They both loved each other, so I do not get why they could not have married earlier on or even at the end.  Overall,  Wharton does a great job of describing the social disasters of Lily.   From being the rich beautiful woman that she was in the beginning, Lily slowly went downhill in the social latter, and soon it ended with her death.  " 'Goodbye,' she said, and as he bent over her she touched his forehead with her lips" (Wharton, 252).  I feel as if this goodbye is Lily telling Selden goodbye forever.  I believe that deep down, Lily knew that that was going to be her last time seeing him.     

The scene of Lily telling Selden goodbye reminded me of the song Sweetest Goodbye by Maroon 5.

Getting Older...

     As I get closer to finishing The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton starts to show the reader that Lily is getting older.  Lily is becoming more tiresome, and I start to feel her both mentally and physically drained.  Wharton starts using negative diction throughout the end of the novel to portray this. Wharton says that "from increasing physical weariness. . .she was beginning to feel acutely the ugliness and discomfort of her surroundings" (Wharton, 233).  This is an example of some of the words and phrases that Wharton uses to help understand that Lily is getting older and weaker.  I start to feel for Lily in some ways because she was never raised to have to work for her money, and now she has to.  She is not use to the work and effort that it takes. I am glad to see that Lily is starting to realize what most people actually have to do in order to live.  Most people are not rich and well off.  I feel like she gets a sense of that when she is working and hears people talking about her old friends. Wharton's clever use of diction makes the mood a little more depressing toward the end of the novel.  Although there are some words throughout the novel that I do not quite understand, the context clues that she uses around them help to me get an idea of the meaning.

Power

     Edith Wharton does a great job of illustrating the importance of power throughout The House of Mirth.  From the beginning I knew that money meant one was rich and high society.  However, it wasn't until the end that I came to realize how much power money gave people.  Lily does not have that power anymore, and she is becoming ill and poor.  The power that this money has over people is absolutely ridiculous.  Without it, they cannot seem to be able to live.  Wharton states that there is "an influence stronger than any she could exert.  That influence, in its last analysis, was simply the power of money. . ." (Wharton, 211).  The amount of power that people have depends on how much is in their bank account.  Lily, without any money, realizes how much power being rich gives to someone.  She is becoming very sick and depressed because she is a poor woman that has been kicked out of high society.  Today, I do believe that money holds a certain power as well. It allows people to buy material items in order to fit in with the people around them. However, I do not think that it is as important as it was back then.

Get Married....Now

     Edith Wharton does a great job in showing the importance of marriage from the beginning of the novel to the end.  In the beginning of The House of Mirth, marriage is Lily's way of becoming higher in society and rank.  She was looking for a rich but nice man to marry just like all of her friends.  However, in the end she is desperate to marry to get her back in high society.  It is her only way of surviving financially and physically.   Mrs. Fisher tells Lily " 'you must marry as soon as you can' " (Wharton, 193).  Mrs. Fisher realizes that Lily needs to marry now if she wants to get back into society again.  Wharton clearly illustrates the importance of status and marital status in society at the beginning of the novel and at the end.  She pushes the reader to realize how monumental all of this is to Lily and others.  If Lily wants to have any chance of staying in that higher status then she needs to find a husband as soon as possible.  I wonder if she will marry Mr. Rosedale or even if she will marry at all.


I have noticed throughout the novel that many french words or phrases are used.  Why does Wharton put those in the novel?

Rejection

     While I continue to read The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton starts to describe the consequences that Lily is starting to face.  First, Bertha tells her not to return to the yacht, then when returning home, Lily's aunt pretty much kicks her out of the family, and finally Lily realizes that she only has one true friend, Gerty.  This begins a pattern of exclusion in Lily's life.   Lily realizes that "for the first time in her life she found herself utterly alone except for Gerty Farish" (Wharton, 183).  Wharton starts to portray to the reader what Lily has to face because of her past choices.  She begins to lose everything that she once had.  People begin to reject her, and it is hard for her to process.  Lily is not use to people that she once thought were her friends talking behind her back, she is not use to her family looking down upon her, and she is not use to being poor.  Lily is facing a hard time in her life, and it is hard for her to adjust to.  She has many problems to fix upon returning to America.  The hardest part is happening to her right now, but I believe that she will be able to push through it all.

I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret

     As I begin book two of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton I am shocked by how unfaithful people are.  Whether they are actual affairs or rumored ones, it seems that people just cannot trust one another.  Mrs. Dorset and Ned Silverton are having an affair, and people start saying that Lily and Mr. Dorset are having an affair as well. Lily and Mr. Dorset had to return to their place alone because Mrs. Dorset, "she didn't turn up at all" (Wharton, 161).  Instead, she was sneaking around with Silverton during that time. I am so surprised by how people cannot stay in a relationship in this novel.  It seems like the men fancy almost every woman even if they are married. Wharton does a great job by showing the unfaithfulness of people during that time.  I am just wondering if people were really like that back then? It just seems crazy to me. This part in the novel reminds me of the song Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects.  Mrs. Dorset is keeping Silverton her "dirty little secret"!

Selden My Man!

    I really do like Selden.  He was raised in a way that my parents have tried to raise me and how they were raised as children.  He was taught to not take anything for granted.  His mother was the "one woman who had given him his sense of 'values'" (Wharton, 124).  He did not like those who obsessed over money, although he did love Lily.  Edith Wharton does a great job in displaying Selden's character in The House of Mirth.  I can relate to him because my parents taught me to have morals and values.  They taught me that material things are not necessities.  I really hope that Lily ends up with Selden because I believe that he will make her a better woman. He has a good head on his shoulders and that is what Lily needs in a man. I know that they both love each other, so they should just  get married already.  I hope there is a wedding at the end of this book and that it is Lily and Selden at the altar.

Crazy.

     "Her heart was beating all over her body-in her throat, her limbs, her helpless useless hands" (Wharton, 119).  Edith Wharton's use of diction really helps me feel what Lily is feeling when she goes to Trenor's house and is trying to get away.  When she was explaining how Lily was feeling I felt as if I was Lily feeling those same emotions.  I wanted to get away from Gus Trenor as much as she did.  I know that Lily did do wrong in leading him on, but the way he was treating her was no way to treat a woman.  I was scared for Lily.  Wharton's use of descriptive diction during this scene in The House of Mirth really helped me picture what was happening.  The way she would describe Trenor and Lily's actions and feelings allowed me to feel as if I was in the room with them.  I am a little nervous to find out what happens when the two come into contact again.  To be honest, I did not know if he was going to let her leave the house.  I did not know if I liked Gus Trenor at first, but now I know for certain that I am not too fond of him. As for Lily, I do not like who she has become.  She is creating this person that people do not like.  Many people are starting to talk about her.  She is receiving money behind her aunts' back, and I do not know how that is going to end.  Guess I will just have to keep on reading, and find out.

Freedom

    A theme that has become apparent to me while reading The House of Mirth is that of freedom vs. servitude.  I have come to realize that when Lily has money, she feels like she is free and independent.  However, when she is in debt or does not have enough money to buy the material items that she needs then she feels like a slave.  Edith Wharton states "that money freed her temporarily" (Wharton, 90).  This clearly shows that when Lily has money it causes her to not have to care about other things.  However, when she is low on money she feels depressed and chained down.  This theme tells me a great deal about how Lily was raised and helps me realize that she learned from her parents that when one has money one can have freedom.  I believe that as I continue reading, I will see more of Lily feeling like a slave.  I think that what is happening with Trenor will cause Lily to become in debt.  She will begin to really experience what it is like to be poor and having to become independent.  Lily is too dependent on money and others at this moment.  I wonder if in the end she will learn from her mistakes, become a better person, and see the reality of things.

Money Money Money

     Money is a huge symbol of nobility status. While reading The House of Mirth I realize how a person's status means the most to them.  Edith Wharton does a great job in revealing what people think of their status.  Lily continues to realize that people are watching her continuously.  When she is with Mr. Rosedale she became "aware of being followed by looks of amusement and interrogation" (Wharton, 79).  I believe that the importance of wealth causes people to become more interested in what people think of them.  Money is mentioned almost always as I continue reading this novel.  Lily is now being loaned money from Gus Trenor, and I feel that that cannot end on a good note.  I think that she is going to have trouble paying him back.  Everything that I have read so far tells me that wealth and status will continue to play a huge role in the novel.  I am very interested to see what comes of Lily's relationship with Trenor because of what he is doing for her, and I am curious to find out how Lily's story ends.  I wonder if her desperate need for money will hurt herself in the future.

Guy Friends

      Gus Trenor begins to help Lily confirm her thoughts that she does not have to marry the richest man just because everyone else does.  She begins to talk to him about how she feels about it, and his response to her makes her feel like "he understood her better than her dearest friends" (Wharton, 68).  Although he is a minor character, his role plays a huge impact on Lily's actions.  He helps her confirm her confused thoughts and helps her realize that she does not have to marry Mr. Gryce because his wife thinks she should.  She realizes that she does not have to live like everyone else does there, Trenor helps her feel better about moving to Richfield with her aunt.  If it was not for Gus Trenor than Lily still might have felt bad about moving away and not living like all of her friends.  Trenor gave her the confirmation that she needed and now Lily is able to move on to the next step and start living like she wants to. Edith Wharton helps show that his role in The House of Mirth so far has played a huge impact on Lily's decisions.  Unlike her girl friends, Trenor sympathizes with her and agrees with what she is saying.  I wonder if Trenor's role will become more major or if this is his big part in the novel.  I am glad that he helped Lily realize that she should not do what everyone else expects and just sits there and listens to her like a real friend should.

Who Will She Choose?

     Mr. Lawrence  Selden and Mr. Percy Gryce.  Which one will Miss Bart choose?  As I continue to read The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton I notice that Lily Bart has two men that she is interested in.  She says that she is going to go for Mr. Gryce, but somehow Mr. Selden is always popping up in her mind.  Lily "is like a water-plant in the flux of the tides, and today the whole current of her mood was carrying her toward Lawrence Selden" (Wharton, 42).  This simile that Wharton uses really explains how fast Lily can go from Mr. Gryce to Mr. Selden.  One day she is leaning more toward Mr. Gryce and the next she could be wanting the company of Mr. Selden.  All of this makes me wonder who she might pick or end up with in the end.  I feel like she likes Mr. Selden more ( that is why he always creeps into her mind), but she would like to be with Mr. Gryce in the end because he seems like the perfect man.  I believe that she wants to go with her head and keep trying to win over Mr. Gryce.  However, I think that she should go with her heart and keep trying to keep Mr. Selden close.  At this point I do not know what is going to happen with Lily and these men, but I am very curious to find out.

Family

     As I continue to read The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton I come to realize how much a person's family molds the person.  Lily Bart has depended on her beauty to win over a rich man.  Her mother used Lily's beauty as if "it was the last asset in their fortunes" (Wharton, 26).  As a young child Lily was both rich and poor.  She knew what it was like to have everything and also to have nothing.  She knew that she did not want a man just because he was rich.  However she grew up in an environment where being wealthy meant being successful.  Lily has been taught to use her looks to get her a man, and her different feelings and choices reflect her parents' feeling and choices when she was little.  I have realized that I possess aspects from both my father and my mother.  I know I get my drive from my dad because I always saw him being focused and driven when I was young.  I looked up to them, and just like Lily Bart, I have possessed many of their qualities.

Introducing...

     As I began reading The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I was introduced to Selden and Lily Bart.  They are acquaintances and Selden seems to be very interested in Lily.  While reading I come to realize that Lily is a beautiful young woman who is always dressed to perfection.  However, she keeps claiming she is poor and has to marry a man with money.  Then I learn that she feels that she has to live up to her friends and other people and that she dresses fancy because she is expected to. She says that "the clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: they don't make success, but they are a part of it" (Wharton, 8). Her appearance means the most to her because she believes that it is the only way that she can find a man.  However, I believe that she is seeking to find a man who loves her for more than her appearance.  Also, she seems upset by the fact that men get to choose whether they marry but a woman must, and I believe that Lily is a dynamic character because she is going to change throughout the novel.  I think that she will learn many lessons and qualities about herself and others as the novel moves forward.  She is stuck in this thought that money and appearance means everything to men and others, but I suspect that those thoughts will soon change.