The House of Mirth, Book II, Chapters 7 and 8

In reading chapters 7 and 8 of Book II of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, I downright had a massive epiphany regarding Lily and also found numerous references and examples which underscore the central themes of the novel. Within this section of the book, many of the novel’s themes, such as the pitfalls of high society and the conflict between love and wealth, are explained in their fullest. This is entire book I have wondered why so many of the characters have chosen a petty lifestyle in high society over genuine love, but when Mrs. Fisher remarks that social ambition makes one even more jealous and suspicious than love, I came to the massive realization that, for most of the characters in the book, their place in a wealthy high society is their true love. Simon Rosedale (who, by the way, I ended up REALLY liking as a character—who would have thought?) is the perfect example of this state of mind. I actually really respected Rosedale when reading this section, because, if nothing else, he was completely honest with Lily and unashamedly owned up to the fact that, as much as he loved Lily, he downright loved his status in society so much more. I also found several places within this section of the book which indicate how high society is more like a business or a game than an actual lifestyle. On page 210, Wharton uses words and phrases such as “transaction,” “business-like give-and-take,” “mutual accommodation,” and “party politics” to display this idea. Rosedale even mentions that a taste for a society resembles a hobby more closely than an actual way of life. However, just as Lily realizes as she is discussing with Gerty, the world can be a terrible place, and those who obsess over their role in high society too passionately will ultimately fall victim to its wicked components, such as money. Lily observes that obtaining a role in high society is something that everyone must “pay for,” and she did not just mean financially—I believe she is also saying that people pay by losing pieces of themselves. The perfect examples of this truth are Ned Silverton, who lost his poetry to an incurable addiction to gambling, and Louisa Bry, who lost all sense of herself to the constant jealousy and paranoia concerning her status. Even Mattie Gormer, who had originally been one of the few wealthy individuals who was not afraid to befriend a rowdier and more colorful crowd, fell victim to the fatal allure of high society. All of these facts support some of The House of Mirth’s central themes: the fact that high society can become the love of peoples’ lives; the fact that high society is an evil and corrupt business and game; and the fact that the pitfalls of society inevitably corrupt all of its members.

              While I was reading this particular section of The House of Mirth, I also made a number of profound epiphanies regarding Lily, the character who has probably confused me the most throughout the book. Ever since the beginning of the book I have been hoping and almost expecting that, ultimately, Lily would realize that high society held nothing for her and that she would be much happier living a life like Selden’s. However, Gerty makes a profound statement that allowed me to realize that I might have expected too much of her: “…Lily was not one of those to whom privation teaches the unimportance of what they have lost” (Wharton, 213). With this statement I realized Lily has learned fairly little from her current struggles and was never going to adapt her lifestyle any further because of it. This whole time I have been saying that she must choose either wealth and status or love and happiness, but I now realize that, for Lily, these things are inseparable. For her, wealth and status are happiness, and love takes a backseat to the size of her husband’s bank account when it comes to marriage. I now realize that Lily has a great chance of becoming one more victim to high society, following in the footsteps of Louisa Bry and Mattie Gormer.