Edith Wharton
All I can say after finishing Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth is that that might
have been the most depressing and heartbreaking ending to a book I have ever
read! For someone who obsesses over love stories the way I do, that conclusion
was just about the most depressing thing I could imagine; however, after having
read the entire book, I now finally feel that I’m informed enough to determine
my opinion about the novel. Even though I have to say I was disappointed in the
ending, I truly feel, in my opinion, that The
House of Mirth was an incredible book, and Wharton did an excellent job of
conveying critical messages about love, wealth, jealousy, and high society in a
captivating plot while also using unmatched literary techniques to accomplish
this purpose.
One of
the most prominent reasons that I found The
House of Mirth to be a remarkable book is that I can truly walked away from
reading this novel with a feeling of confidence in knowing exactly what themes
and messages the author was intending to convey, and I truly feel that the
themes explained in this novel have impacted me. I personally find the themes
in many books to be obscure or subjective; furthermore, even if I can determine
the theme of a book easily, rarely do I feel that I have actually learned
something incredibly substantial because of my ability to pinpoint the lessons
the author supported. In the case of the
House of Mirth, however, I feel that I will forever be aware of the power
social politics and ostracism can hold over a person. I walked away from
reading this book with a genuine resentment of the principles which high
society upheld, such as selfishness, wealth, and status being the ultimate
purposes of existence. Furthermore, I felt that Wharton did a phenomenal job in
developing very complex characters with deep and complicated internal struggles
and issues. Many of the characters, such as Selden, I did not fully understand until
the last chapter of the novel. Wharton has proved that she is a literary genius
by manufacturing her novel in such a way that the reader is able to make many
personal connections to the characters and therefore draw personal lessons from
the actions, decisions, and emotions that they experienced. I, for example,
have take away from this novel the personal lesson of the utmost importance of
saying what you feel and what you need to say at the exact moment you need to
express it, lest the opportunity pass you by forever.
In
addition to the fact that the characters that Wharton developed throughout the
course of The House of Mirth were
very complex, I really marveled at
the way in which she was able to articulate their thoughts and opinions in such
a manner that I was able to feel the emotions felt by the characters as they
were feeling them themselves. In other words, when Gerty was heartbroken by her
unrequited love for Selden, I too was heartbroken for her, and when Lily was
driven to helpless misery by her isolation and loneliness, I was incredibly
depressed and lonely for her as well! I feel that few authors are able to
create characters in such a relatable way that the reader can truly sympathize
with them as the story progresses, so I really commend Wharton for this.
Lastly,
I really enjoyed this book because of the amazing literary techniques that
Wharton used throughout the novel. I was surprised to realize how many
techniques I was able to identify as soon as I read them in my novel due to the
fact that she did such a wonderful job of utilizing a wide variety of
techniques. While her diction was sometimes a little to elaborate in my
opinion, her word choice was truly remarkable, and her imagery allowed me to
feel as if the scenery was coming alive. Most importantly, her
carefully-constructed similes and metaphors were incredibly clever and were
constantly providing me with more clarification on many of the thoughts and
emotions of the characters which Wharton was attempting to convey. Ultimately,
even though I will forever be bitter and depressed about how tragically the
book ended, Wharton even concluded the novel in the most positive note possible
when Selden remarks, “…and if the moment had been fated to pass from them
before they could seize it, he saw now that, for both, it had been saved whole
out of the ruin of their lives” (Wharton, 268). In my own personal opinion, I
really do believe that The House of Mirth
was a very powerful, intriguing, and enjoyable book to read, and Wharton is a
remarkable author who did an incredibly job in fabricating such a complex story.
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