Who Is Lily's Objectification In The House Of Mirth

Women in society sometimes are subject to objectification, meaning they are treated as a mere object; unequal to men. In the novel, The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, this holds true, except, women are said to be equal to men, but are not treated in this exact manner. Lily is apart of the upper class society of New York and attends parties, gambles all her money, and throughout the whole book tries to marry a rich man. Wharton’s feminism is apparent in the way she treats Lily; Lily gets through society, merely by keeping up her appearances. Beauty and appearance are everything in this society, if you are beautiful you will get far in society, however, the only thing Lily is lacking is wealth. In the novel, feminism is present with the idea of appearances and the symbol of money is used to convey that men are needed to control a women’s social stability.

“Pride and Prejudice”, a novel written by Jane Austen represents eighteenth century English women as illogical, domestic individuals who economically depend on male members in their household. Major decisions in their life are decided by their fathers and brothers. They perform subordinate roles, and are considered inferior to men. This novel reinforces the sexist stereotypes of women.The female characters in the novel possess these virtues in varying degrees depending on their role. Marriage is considered essential to secure a woman’s future ,they are expected to behave in a certain manner to earn the respect of the society, and are treated unfairly by the social and justice

The life of a lady in the 19th century is painted in a romantic light. Pictured in her parlor, the lady sips tea from delicate china while writing letters with a white feathered quill. Her maid stands silently off in the background, waiting for orders to serve her mistress. What is not typically pictured, is the sadness or boredom echoed on the lady’s face. Perhaps the letter is to a dear friend, not seen in ages, pleading with the friend to visit, in hopes that the friend will fill the void in the lady’s life made from years spent in a loveless marriage; or possiblyk20 the lady isn’t writing a letter at all, but a novel or a poem, never to be read by anyone but her. Edith Warton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, are 19th Century ladies who dare to share their writing with the world. Through their works, the darker side of a woman’s life in the late 1800’s is exposed. Gender politics in the 19th dictates that a lady is dependent on her husband for her financial security and social standing; that is if she is fortunate enough to marry at all. In Edith Warton’s The House of Mirth, Lily Bart is a beautiful woman in her late 20’s, who fails to marry a wealthy man. The narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper slowly goes insane under her physician husbands misguided attempts to cure her of depression. The downfall of Lily Bart and the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper is

She even had to take charge of problematic situations. She performed like a mother towards her younger siblings, while her mother, by contrast, refused to do the chores, for she named herself a "lady". Not only Lily´s childhood wasn´t easy, but also her future life was full of tough occurrences. She found her purpose of life in teaching. For her first job offer, she had to ride 500 miles with her horse Patches.

This perfection, however, remains just out of reach, as people struggle their entire lives to become this impossible image. Daisy Miller, a young girl in the Victorian era where traditionally men and women did not socialize with each other unless they were married has “always had, she said, a great deal of gentlemen's society” (James 9) and brags that she attracts so many men, mostly just to make others jealous and pursue more male admirers. Daisy cares more about herself than anyone else and constantly acts in her own self interests with no regards for the society’s rules or anyone’s feelings. She is well aware that her behavior of flaunting herself around town is highly controversial and openly admits to being a “fearful, frightful flirt. (Asking) did you ever hear of a nice girl that was not?”

Through this novel we see Lily grow, we see her come of age and mature. Her search for her mother lands her in a place she would have never expected to go but where she was always meant to be. She fills the void of her lost mother with all the amazing women she now has in

As shown by the actions and attitudes of Myrtle and Daisy, the journey of a woman toward social nobility involves an amalgamation of both wealth and loyalty. However, as one may see, such a combination cannot last because one member of the relationship always seems to want unattainable attributes from the other; whether it be wealth or

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

Throughout The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, the relationship Mrs. Peniston has with Lily changes. After Lily’s mother dies, Mrs. Peniston, Lily’s aunt, takes her in. Mrs. Peniston “had the kind of moral mauvaise honte which makes the public display of selfishness hard”(36). Lily appreciates her aunt’s charitable actions, and is “grateful for the refuge offered”(36). She even says that she has “no intention of taking advantage of [Mrs. Peniston’s] good nature”(36). In the beginning, Mrs. Peniston and Lily get along well with each other. Both make efforts in helping the each other out, and they appreciate what the other does for them. Even though Lily would have preferred to have a fixed income, she is grateful that Mrs. Peniston “supplemented [her]

The House of Mirth, written by Edith Wharton, depicts the social system and how it functioned during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Through looking at the social rise and fall of Lily Bart, the protagonist, one can see how education, gender, and social status determine value and success. By the evident contrast between upper class and lower class values in the novel, the theme of performance is illuminated. Each character in the novel is performing—Lily, especially—and does so as a way of socially furthering themselves. This is due to the fact that in the novel, social status determines value; value increases as social status increases. This idea of performance correlating with social status and personal value aligns with Louis Althusser’s thesis regarding ideology: ideology is determined before birth and is performed. Ideology forms as soon as one is addressed and responds; Lily responds “yes” to each person who addresses her, but each address puts her in a different performance, causing her to be a reciprocal of these ideologies. Lily faces an internal conflict of which ideology she belongs to: was she pre-determined with an upper class ideology, or lower class ideology? Is she the person who is addressed by Percy Gryce, or Nettie Struther? This ideological struggle is conveyed most clearly when she interacts with Lawrence Selden, who challenges her values and beliefs. Two versions of Lily exist within the novel that perform and speak to each ideology.

Yet, this very society that demand its women be superficial creatures that merit worth only by appearance is also one which immediately rejects a woman who seems intent on marrying a man with wealth-the one course open to women who wish to be accepted in society.  This may be where one of Lily's character qualities prevents her from being able to join such a society.  She is no good at hiding her desire to marry a man of wealth.  In fact, she even tells Selden, her true love, that she "is very expensive" and "must have a great deal of money" (Wharton  31).  These kinds of admissions make Lily appear to be the one thing this superficial society cannot bear-a scheming adventuress out to snag a rich

During the Victorian Era in 1837 the period that was ruled by Queen Victoria I, women endured many social disadvantages by living in a world entirely dominated by men. Around that time most women had to be innocent, virtuous, dutiful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion. It was also a time associated with prudishness and repression. Their sole window on the world would, of course, be her husband. During this important era, the idea of the “Angel in the House” was developed by Coventry Patmore and used to describe the ideal women who men longed. Throughout this period, women were treated inferior to men and were destined to be the husbands “Angel in the House”.

Great novel, “The House of Mirth” written by Edith Wharton includes romantic, intricate, and tragic plots at the same time. At the time of the novel, there are higher status people who mostly do not work, but own money from their family, middle class people such as Selden, and working class who lives at the bottom of the society. One of the main character Lily lives as a victim of the society because her desire of being love by others, in which caused by her loveless family, the fact that she follows the society’s latent rule of marrying the “wealth”, and truth that women were looked as a beautiful object of the society at that time.

Isabella Churchston was a proper young lady in the eyes of society. From every corner of the evolutionary world she abided in she was sought to be every father and mother’s child. Yong men dreamed to wed her and young women dreamed to be her. Her pale and soft womanly figure beautifully contrasted against her rich brunette hair, which was always pinned in an extravagant up-do of curls. She carried herself with confidence of a queen but spoke like a shy doll, soft and timid. Isabella never raised her voice against a single soul, whether aristocrat or vagabond. Servants called her Lily Flower, for as everyone knows the downtrodden loved to nickname their masters. Sadly though these lovely thought were forgotten when that godforsaken

Over the centuries, women’s duties or roles in the home and in the work force have arguably changed for the better. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen teaches the reader about reputation and loves in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries by showing how Elizabeth shows up in a muddy dress, declines a marriage proposal and how women have changed over time. Anything a woman does is reflected on her future and how other people look at her. When Elizabeth shows up to the Bingley’s in a muddy dress they categorize her as being low class and unfashionable. Charles Bingley, a rich attractive man, and his sister had a reputation to protect by not letting their brother marry a ‘low class girl’. Reputation even today and back in the nineteenth