The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

 

Summary (from the publisher): Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time In The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton depicts the glittering salons of Gilded Age New York with precision and wit, even as she movingly portrays the obstacles that impeded women's choices at the turn of the century.

The beautiful, much-desired Lily Bart has been raised to be one of the perfect wives of the wealthy upper class, but her spark of character and independent drive prevents her from becoming one of the many women who will succeed in those circles. Though her desire for a comfortable life means that she cannot marry for love without money, her resistance to the rules of the social elite endangers her many marriage proposals. As Lily spirals down into debt and dishonor, her story takes on the resonance of classic tragedy. One of Wharton's most bracing and nuanced portraits of the life of women in a hostile, highly ordered world, The House of Mirth exposes the truths about American high society that its denizens most wished to deny. 

Review: This is a glittering indictment of the obstacles women face in a highly ordered society. Lily Bart was raised in the upper echelons of Gilded Age New York with the expectation that she will marry well. However, when her family loses its fortune, she is left to rely on herself and her wits alone to try to secure this marriage. While she has friends that come to her aid, her independent nature makes her reluctant to accept marriage proposals from men she considers bores, that she must entertain them "all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honor of boring her for life" (25). At the same time, she refuses to marry for love without money, as she is accustomed to a certain quality of living. 

This is such a tragic novel. In the beginning, it feels like Lily needs to figure out a solution soon. But things go from bad to worse as she is cruelly maligned and ultimately becomes a destitute social pariah, forced to live on the outer margins of the set that once fully embraced her. She has no education or skillset to fall back on, and it was considered unladylike and unbecoming for women of her station to work. Lily has no options, no choices, little free will. She was raised to marry and, if not, to fail. 

This was beautifully written and pokes fun at the inane worries of New York's elite, such as the fretting lady whose secretary has left to see to her sister as she has a baby - "as if that were anything to having a houseparty!" (40). Or the "simple country wedding" where guests are conveyed by special trains and "hordes of the uninvited have to be fended off by the intervention of the police" (86). There is absolutely some tongue in cheek mockery of the obliviousness of their own absurdity, as well as condemnation of how they treat members, especially the most vulnerable like poor Lily Bart. 

I read this one before in 2009 I believe. Burnt out from reading for my English degree, it wasn't the right time, and I didn't enjoy it much. But now I can only see the tragedy and heartbreak for poor, beautiful, noble Lily Bart. The ending of this just crushed me. 

Stars: 4.5