Shattering the Glass House of Mirth Essay

Edith Wharton is well known for her vivid descriptions of wealthy, upper class New York society and their old-fashioned mores. The Custom of the Country illustrates not only the strict values of ‘old money,' from which Wharton herself descended, but, also, the variance in customs held by those with new money, as well as those from other states and abroad. Two of the novel's main characters that attempt to join this society exemplify the conflicts they face as their imbedded small-town, yet, somewhat modern values clash with those of New York society, further demonstrating the shift of values in American society near the end of the Gilded Age. As Undine Spragg and her family move to New York in hopes of securing a fortune and social status

In The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, and A Doll House, by Henrik Ibsen, each protagonist faces the difficulty of society’s rule. Tom, being the “man of the house”, provides for his family and is depended upon. Were as Nora is co-dependant of her puppet master of husband Torvald. Despite their differences, Tom and Nora parallel the flaws in their common daily lives.

Likewise, they continued to suppress the individual as they developed using silence as a method of control to build up their “class-conscious conservatism” that unknowingly evaded the moral standards of the modern time (Burt). New York was incapable of opening its eyes and finding meaning in its world; the people “could only look blankly at blankness,” unable to find purpose behind the unpleasant (Wharton 28). Society spreads unpleasantry through gossip and rumor to alienate different and innovative individuals to ultimately stifle the revelation of a changing world. Society reflects one of its pitfalls when involving itself in the infliction its own unpleasant nature on the individual, defeating its own initial purpose of censoring the disagreeable. The systems within society avoid the harsh truths of their lack of integrity while being hypocritical of their own principle; they continue to defend a false sense of security that existed within the boundaries of conformity. To accentuate their disparity, Wharton generates a symbol of aversion and controversy that displays the invisible evils that New York has to offer.

Gryce’s assessment of this group, there are boundaries within it which should not be crossed, limiting the members of the society in House of Mirth to a sense of restriction. The self-imposed rules prevent people from doing as they please or experiencing the tribulations that life throws at them. Examples of this is that women marry solely for financial purposes, women should not befriend married men or even smoke cigarettes. The people are expected to play their role in this high-end society and any deviance from this is condemned. The following quote examines Lily’s appearance towards everyone and how she was expected to act.: “To Selden's exasperated observation she was only too completely alive to them. She was "perfect" to every one: subservient to Bertha's anxious predominance, good-naturedly watchful of Dorset's moods, brightly companionable to Silverton and Dacey.” (Wharton, 2.1.43) The freedom in this society is minimal, even to those who are financially adept. Selden states that his version of success is freedom. Despite that he continues to participate in the menial activities of this society. Previously, we noted that Selden is less restricted in this society and his male gender allows his reputation to stand strong. This is also the case for his sense of freedom. He can feel free only because he is a male and women are constantly confined because they are female. Similarly, Bertha Dorset is completely aware of her downfall if her

Shattered Glass is a 2003 history drama, which was directed by Billy Ray. Since the film did not come out long ago it features actors that are still in business in today’s times, such as: Hayden Christensen, Rosario Dawson, Hank Azaria, and Steve Zahn. The film starts of with a reporter for The New Republic named Stephen Glass. Glass publishes an entertainment story about a teenage hacker. After this article was published by Glass, another reporter, Adam Penenburg tries to do some research to figure out how Glass got the info for the story.

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth serves as a strict model of etiquette for high society in the Gilded Age. It teaches one the intricate art of keeping up appearances and assimilating into the fickle leisure class. At the same time, the novel’s underlying purpose is to subtly critique this social order. Lily Bart’s perpetual, although often reluctant quest for financial stability and mass approval is a vehicle for demonstrating the numerous absurdities and constant pretensions of a class that revolved around money and opinion.

For example, in Emma, Mr. Weston and Ms. Churchill’s marriage is described as “an unsuitable connexion that did not bring much happiness” because she was wealthy and he was poor (23). Ms. Churchill “missed the luxuries of her former life [and] they lived beyond their income;” ultimately, this serves as a cautionary tale to those who dare to marry outside class structures (Austen, 24). Similarly, the influence of class structures is felt when Gilbert says “I did not know this estate was yours until enlightened on the subject of your inheritance … and then I saw at once the folly of the hopes I cherished” (Bronte, 884). Due to social sanctions that discouraged interclass marriages, Gilbert was uncertain if Helen would want him. As a consequence of this stratification, wealth remained in the hands of the elite and made it difficult for the majority of women, who were of lower class, to acquire useful social capital to improve their situation. Further exacerbating this unhealthy climate was the social construction of gender roles. The dominant belief at the time was that women and men had to operate in different spheres: the woman in the home and the man everywhere else. A clear example of this is given in Austen’s narration of her protagonist. Emma is described as “handsome, clever and rich, with comfortable disposition” yet for a young woman with so much intelligence and skill, the best she could do when bored was to play matchmaker (Austen, 8). Her situation shows how limited women were in terms of what activities they could partake in. Likewise, the social construct of gender roles is seen in Bronte’s novel during Helen’s argument with Mrs. Markham. Mrs. Markham believes that “boys should not be shielded from evil, but

Visualize being at a lovely dinner in New York City during the early 20th century and scrutinizing some of the most affluent people the city has to offer. Edith Wharton was able to witness all of the arrogance in New York during this time and put those observations into her novel, The House of Mirth. Edith Wharton was born on January 24th, 1862 into a prosperous New York family. She lived in an expensive area of New York and was primarily educated by governesses and personal tutors (Olin 72). Her family inspired the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” (Lee 22). Edith’s personal experiences have definitely had a huge impact on her writing. Her high social status, the Gilded Age in America, and her love for nature influenced Edith Wharton

In Edith Wharton’s classic novel entitled The Age of Innocence, one is thrust into the life of Newland Archer, a young man who lives in a time where scandal is more feared than disease. Through Newland’s engagement and marriage to the fair, May Welland, we can see how society’s expectations pave the way to how he gets through personal struggles. First, that the way a family perceives cultural customs is a huge part in one’s personal preferences. Secondly, that despite being taught the “right” way, the natural man still creeps its way into Mr. Archer’s thoughts and actions. Thirdly, that sacrifices must be made in order to uphold one’s reputation. Ultimately, the desires and passions of the human heart override the politically correct views

The author Edith Wharton of New York grew up in a high class family where her mother and father were business aristocracies. Her descents were well established Dutch and English which is why she was exposed to such snobbishness, manners, and dos and don’ts. As an adult, she became well-known for her works such as The House of Mirth where the main characters in her novels (Lily in this case) were challenged by social taboos, but were unable to overcome the barriers of social convention. Wharton's

Residents’ of Old New York discontent with Ellen is Wharton’s commentary on how difficult it is for women of high society to withdraw from those expectations. Although it’s hard for Ellen because of the feelings of loneliness and anguish that often accompany alienation, she can do it because she did not have the rules and the importance of them bred into her. Growing up in a middle class family taught her that the obligations of women in Old New York and the refusal to discuss anything forthrightly are trivial. This makes her character, Ellen, even more interesting because although she is seemingly free from Old New York’s obligations she is severely lonely. This is probably due to Wharton, although being an advocate of woman’s rights, being appalled at the lack of moral standards or social restraint during the 1920’s. Ellen has thoughts of her own and does what she thinks is best for herself, but she also partakes in activities that Wharton looks down upon, as well as the rest of Old New York. These activities, such as accompanying men to places she shouldn’t be, or wearing obscene or revealing clothing, are what bring Ellen the most trouble in Old New York. These habits spark the gossip that begin with condescending speeches about propriety and move to a general disapproval of Ellen’s thoughts and opinions. Perhaps if Ellen had tried a little harder to forget the lax way she was brought up by her liberal aunt and remembered the

In the novel each character has a challenge that deals with the pressures of wealth and high society hierarchy. Gender rules are a big thing to follow and if broken the society looks down upon you. In the novel, Countless Ellen Olenska, undertakes a huge gender breaking rule: she tries to divorce her husband (which in that society is a big no-no) and moves to Europe alone. Ellen represents death of the old order of society because a woman of that time period would never go against the innocent role of a woman the way Ellen did. Although Ellen claimed she was ready to get out of the city, “It is confoundedly dull anyhow; New York is dying of dullness” (87). To the people of her society it was

Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth creates a subtle, ironic, and superbly crafted picture of the social operation of turn-of-the-century New York. In her harsh expression of community, she succeeds in portraying a world of calculation operating under the pretenses of politeness. The characters become competitors in the highly complex game of social positioning with an amorphous body of socially formed laws. Through her presentation of Lily Barton's ongoing struggles to "recover her footing-each time on a slightly lower level" in this game of skill, Wharton forces her audience to question this social order (272). Lily's fate gives way to a satirical commentary on how a social order governed by convention, sanctions, beliefs, and

    Tennessee Williams is known for his use of symbols, tension, and irony. Williams uses all of these components to express the central theme of The Glass Menagerie - hope followed by despair. Each of the characters has dreams that are destroyed by the harsh realities of the world.

The House of Mirth is a novel that condemns the elitist world of women and promotes the idea that money can't buy happiness. Wharton wanted to present American aristocracy when that aristocracy was doing so well. The novel highlights each aspect of a person's social behavior because each detail can have implications. Wharton wanted to mock the society, but also to show the tragedies in it. Wharton considered New York society to be arrogant, trivial, and ridiculous. The burden of tragedy to her often a humorous bitter satire of the ways of the wealthy is related with Wharton's personal connection to this world. She is presenting a good combination of criticism and social satire.