The House Of Mirth And Gender Roles

Ray was Lily’s abusive father that does not care about Lily’s clothing, sleepovers, or even football games (8). (SS) When Lily calls T. Ray and he cannot answer a simple question about her, she tries to convince herself that it does not matter by telling herself, “Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. So what if he doesn’t know the color you love best? So what?” (160). (SS) Lily has the idea that she is “unlovable” and wonders “who could love her” (242). (SS) But little does Lily know that a very significant figure will come into her life and will show Lily what being loved by a “family” member feels like. (PS) August Boatwright, an African American beekeeper, shows Lily her empathetic heart right when Lily walks through her door. (SS) When Lily comes to the Boatwright household seeking for a place to stay, August opens up her home to Lily, exclaiming, “Well, you can stay here till you figure out what to do. We can’t have you living on the side of the road” (72). (SS) August could have turned Lily away and told her to find another place to stay, but she graciously opens up her home to Lily. (SS) In the same way, when Lily faints of embarrassment during a Daughters of Mary gathering, August acts as if it is her fault by telling Lily, “I should’ve turned on the fans in

Wharton takes the much-admired upper crust of society and exposes them, not in a hurtful world, but an objectively world. Wharton writes: "I've come to the conclusion that I don't in the least know what they are," said Mrs. Ansley. "And perhaps we didn't know much more about each other."(780) This one passage serves as a direct commentary on both the bonds of friendship and family life. Wharton's language is objective, straightforward. The character speaks these alarming

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author who was best known for her novels that commented on social issues and class, and Northanger Abbey is no exception. Austen’s social commentary is apparent in this novel’s plot, as the reader follows a seventeen-year-old protagonist, Catherine Morland, as she matures and forms intimate relationships with fellow characters in an England town called Bath. Marriage between characters in the novel is heavily based on wealth, and because of England’s unstable economy at the time, marrying into wealth meant maintaining a high social class and economic stability for the characters. The importance of economic prosperity and social rank heavily influenced marriage in 19th century England, and this idea bourgeoisie classism and marrying for wealth is contradicted by Austen in her novel, Northanger Abbey.

Luckily for Lily, she comes upon the Boatwright sisters once she reaches Tiburon. Because of the fact Lily does not have anyone to share her love with, she is compelled to stay and live with the Boatwrights. At one point in the novel, Lily and August are having a conversation when August asks Lily “What else do you love Lily?”(Kidd 39). Lily then thinks to herself, “No one had ever asked me that before. What did I love? Right off the bat I wanted to say that I loved the picture of my mother…but I had to swallow that back”(39). Lily does not feel comfortable enough yet that she says, “ I love writing poems, just give me something to write, and I’ll love it” despite the fact that Lily really loves August (39). She loves August so much that she would rather stay in Tiburon with the Boatwrights than be with her own father T. Ray. The loss of Deborah results in Lily going to obtain love somewhere other than her own home. This is also why Lily takes Rosaleen with her. Rosaleen is a black nanny who used to work on T. Ray’s farm. She has been there for Lily in the past but she cannot always be there one hundred percent because of her race. Due to Deborah’s death, Lily does not have a mother figure, however, he journey to Tiburon with Rosaleen proves to be a success as she finds the Boatwrights and strengthens her relationship with her nanny, Rosaleen.

In Ethan Frome, Ethan lives in an unhappy marriage with a cruel woman, but due to his responsibilities, he cannot live with his true love, Mattie. In the Age of Innocence movie, Newland and Ellen have feelings for each other, but neither can leave their unhappy marriages without being ridiculed by society. Wharton was also in an unpleasant marriage, but she was brave enough to leave her unhappiness, even though she knew it would bring on harsh criticism from her peers. In her time, marriages were not about love at all, but were about bringing important families together. Wharton shows through her novels that when people are not happy with these marriages, they are often too afraid of becoming an outcast of society to leave their marriage and pursue true love. However, she shows through her own life that if one is brave enough to stand up and accept criticism, one can still live a happy life of true

Anderson’s assessment stems from the fact that men found obedience to be a desirable female quality during the eighteenth century. Moreover, according to feminists, society during that time was designed for the pleasure and benefit of men alone. While Feminist criticism works well with Charlotte Temple, it is evident that another concept also deserves attention. Although the majority of novel seems to focus on women, chapters two through five connect almost exclusively to economics. The significance of economics and social class in these opening chapters implies that Charlotte is not only victimized due to her gender, but also due to her class. During the first few chapters, the importance of money and gender are revealed. Mr. Lewis exploits and then proceeds to blackmails Mr. Eldridge for money, thus sending him into financial tragedy. This short background story sets up the theme of class struggle for the novel.

Lily comes to know three incredible women called the Boatwrights. Their names are August, June, and May. Lily became closest to August although she was close to May and June, also. Lily felt as though August had a comforting and consoling way about her. August once told Lily “Actually, you can be bad at something...but if you love doing it, that will be enough.” (Kidd 111). Her motivational life advice helped to guide Lily. Furthermore, August had to be the one to tell Lily that they had lost May; May had killed herself. Lily did not take the news so well. Lily claimed she had started to “shiver…[she] could feel the teeth in [her] mout, crashing against each other.” (Kidd 193).

Instead of relying on another power that is above her, she takes her fate into her own hands and tries to save her own home. This self reliance develops early, and can also be seen much later in her life. When she is twenty-seven, Lily learns that her husband has a secret second family. She leaves him immediately and manages to annul the marriage. Although he had taken all of her money from their joint bank account, she does not go back to her parents in Arizona or try to find another husband to take care of her. Instead, she begins preparing for her future alone. “Since I obviously couldn't count on a man to take care of me, what I needed more than ever was a profession. I needed to get my college education and become a teacher . . . the time flew by, and when both the dispensation and the acceptance letter arrived, I had enough money for a year of college” (p. 90). Instead of wondering what to do and moping about her ex-husband, Lily is practical and knows what she wants to do next. She also mentions that she cannot depend on a husband to take care of her. If she did not have to fend for

Mullen describes Lily’s situation as “Lily Bart has been predominantly framed as a tragic victim caught within the irresistible market forces of capitalism and the fatal contradictions of gender and class politics” (45). The novel, “The House of Mirth” filled with nuances of gender and class politics. Mullen points out a weakness in Lily’s character, her position in the forces of the capitalist circle. The females in the novel face the pressures from the social circle as well. Lily is a product of her culture and upbringing. Success is measured by the capital worth and how one would survive in their social class. Unfortunately, Lily didn’t have to chance to remain in her former social class circle, after trying to pay off her debts. She died the night that she received her

First, a distinction must be made between direct and indirect transaction. Lily can happily live in a world where wealth circulates obliquely and freely. When Lily stays as a guest at Bellomont eating fine food at her hosts expense, she is not receiving payment for goods or services. Instead, her charm has earned her the benefits of friendship with the rich. Lily is not exactly being paid to be charming; instead, being charming attracts the generous hospitality and entertainment of wealthy friends. The distinction between this type of benefit and direct compensation is enormous. When the reader encounters Lily in Chapter Ten of Book Two, Lily has fled from the world of Norma Hatch to the milliners shop--and it was an offer of direct reward that made it necessary for Lily to escape. Wharton writes, "The sense of being involved in a transaction she would not have cared to examine too closely had soon afterward defined itself in the light of a hint from Mr. Stancy that if she saw them through, she would have no reason to be sorry" (293-3). Lily has no qualms about living as a guest of her rich friends, but the idea of selling her charm and becoming a sort of social mercenary holds no appeal for her: "The implication that such loyalty would meet with a direct

     Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth is an affront to the false social values of fashionable New York society.  The heroine is Lily Bart, a woman who is destroyed by the very society that produces her.  Lily is well-born but poor.  The story traces the decline of Lily as she moves through a series of living residences, from houses to hotel lodgings.  Lily lives in a New York society where appearances are all.  Women have a decorative function in such an environment, and even her name, Lily, suggests she is a flower of femininity, i.e. an object of decoration as well as of desirability to the male element.  We see this is very true once Lily's bloom fades, as it were, a time when she

It is truly impossible to believe that relationships have not changed at all since Austen’s time. Pride and Prejudice took place in a setting where the male had complete authority over the female, and primogeniture decided who received the family fortune. However, most of Austen’s main points about personal relationships still ring true today. For instance, Austen begins her novel by saying, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). People in

In the early 19th century, social class or status was everything to individuals back then. Social status was everything to people, just by saying they were better than others. Also, by saying they were “higher statuses” than one another was such a huge deal back then, which higher statues and ranks were about how had money and who didn’t. As people say history repeats itself, I believe that, for instance, nowadays people are always trying to outdo one another. Edith Wharton expressed a variety of different dimensions throughout House of Mirth, which included social, cultural, political, economic. Edith Wharton elaborates a story about Lily Barton, a young lady in her mid 20’s, who is continuously trying to achieve social statuses while dealing with other life struggles. She struggles trying to find someone rich to marry and ends up not being able to become wealthy either. When she struggles to try and find who she wants to marry she tends to get discourage and ends up putting herself in a serious amount of debt that she is unable to pay back. While in debt, she has trouble sleeping, and starts taking medicine to help with this problem. When she had enough money to pay off this debt she uses it to her advantage and pays off all her debt, however why paying off her debts Lily was still taking her sleeping pills and ends up over dosing, which causes her to die. After, this short summary of House of Mirth, did Lily social status affect her life? Did her social status actually

The House of Mirth explores the place of women (particularly Lily Bart) in society and the social effect that marriage had on them. The book showcases the problems that came with being a single woman during the late 1800s and the need and struggle to conform to society's expectations, and, therefore, falls under the title of a novel of manners. Women had little chance to play any role other that a wife or a mother, and could acquire respect and power only through marriage. Edith Wharton explores the themes of the female body, gender roles and manners in order to achieve this.

At the beginning of the Victorian Period, both single and married women’s rights were limited. The changes during this era in the identity of genders are represented in the characters the author Wilkie Collins describes. For example, Marian Halcombe is characterized as strong and predominant. She is Laura’s voice when regarding to her husband and protects her throughout the story. Although Marian knows her role as a woman in society, she disapproves with the beliefs of the era. On the other hand, Laura personalizes the conventional quiet woman that obeys customs. To emphasize this, in Collin’s novel, he lets the reader know that Laura is marrying the man that her father approved even though he is now dead. When she marries, her rights legally belong to her husband and is treated with the laws and customs of the Victorian era. Throughout this period, the distinction between classes was also notable. Comparatively, The Woman in White presents how the middle class as Laura and her uncle refer to the working class, Fanny the maid. Even though Fanny has always been their maid and is the only person they trust, they only communicate with her at their convenience. Moreover, Mr. Fairlie does not even call the maid by her name, but refers to her as “Young Person”. Certainly, the Victorian Period was a significant impact in the novel where