The House of Mirth [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

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Review of "The House Of Mirth"
Stephanie Grumbacher

Edith Wharton's classic, "The House of Mirth", while written well, was flawed in several ways. Wharton's over-dramatic tale of a social climbing girl who needed to grow up lacked emotion altogether. Lily Bart, who is considered a heroine in nineteenth century literature, drags on in unhappiness for 310 pages without ever stopping to think logically about her money or use of time, ending up poor and lonely. She is what women of 2004 would look down upon with disgust: fragile and weak. Yet the book pulls the reader in by trying to understand why Bart would do the things she does. The book becomes seemingly unbearable by Bart's actions, but addicting in a way that you want to see if Lily will come to her senses.

What the novel lacks in description it makes up for in its accurate portrayal of high profile society in the 1800's. Socialites like Bertha Dorset, who used their popularity and "rank" to keep her hold on people. Simon Rosedale thought that his money could get him whatever he wanted, including Lily. As for the dynamic in Lawrence Seldon and Bart's relationship, it lacked depth altogether. It seemed Lily only had one love, that being herself. "The House of Mirth", while an interesting look into the past, was overly drawn out and almost painful to read at points.

The House of Mirth is the book that established Edith Wharton as a major writer. As such, it is not the future Pulitzer Prize-winner's best book, though it does have its strong points. The comedy of manners, particularly around the turn of the 20th century, was effectively monopolized by British literature; this book is one of American literature's first successful books of the type. As such, it is a book distinctly of its time: its setting is certainly not universal; arguably neither is its theme. And yet, the book has been in continual publication for nearly a century for several good reasons. First of all, like her good friend Henry James, Wharton was a master prose stylist. Smart, sophisticated, and witty, her prose is perfectly-suited for a book of this type. Many of the book's features place it squarely in Victorian-era America, in the cradle of New York's upper-class -- in other words, square in the middle of the Gilded Age. The era's infamous social etiquette is on full display here: one that knows little of it will come away from the book knowing much. In the middle of this situation, then, is the book's protagonist: Lily Bart. Wharton uses the story of Bart's rapid downfall to satirize several aspects of New York's turn-of-the-century upper-class society: its selfishness, cruelty, and blindness; its preoccupation with gossip and its disdain for truth; its inhumane treatment of those it believes to be inferior; and more. The book also focuses on the situation that a young lady who was born and bred from the cradle to be rich and taught no skills other than how to woo a rich man into marriage -- a woman, in short, like Lily -- was often forced into at the time. Lily, despite being the most prized beauty of the entire scene, has a seemingly-perverse record of failing to marry rich men whom she has under her thumb. In this, we find Lily to be something of an essentially contradictory character: not a mere gold digger, but hardly a rebel, either. When she is ejected from society's upper echelons, she does not become strong and individualistic: she crumbles. It is in this aspect that the book differs so greatly from present-day culture and ideas about women. This is, by no means, a feminist book: strong-minded women reading this book today, unless they look upon it from a purely-literary viewpoint, will not only despise it, but hate Lily for her failure to stand up for herself. This is an anachronistic reading of the book, of course, but it is precisely the reason why the book's relevance to the contemporary world is questionable at best (this point is illustrated by the largely-unsuccessful recent film adaptation.) Still, the book is both a penetrating comedy of manners and a fascinating period piece. Its exquisite writing style also is quite remarkable, and this is an essential book for prose stylists. This book comes highly-recommended for fans of the works of E.M. Forster and Kate Chopin's The Awakening -- and, of course, of Wharton's other writings. For a truly great work from this author, though, read Ethan Frome.

"The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton is her second long novel, and was published on October 14th of 1905. Her first long novel, "The Valley of Decision", was a sweeping historical fiction, which was perhaps a bit too ambitious for her first attempt. This novel suffers none of the flaws of her first effort, and the reader is pulled into the story by its heroine, Lily Bart. She is an interesting character, who is struggling to maintain her position in society. She is flawed, to be sure, but at the same time the reader wants to find out what is going to happen to her.

The story starts with Lily already in difficulty. She is living off of a small inheritance and the sporadic gifts of her strict Aunt Julia. She is also getting older, though still very beautiful and able to attract men, she is always looking for signs of age in the mirror. From the time she was young, she was brought up in affluence, and when her father was ruined financially, it had devastating effect on her mother, and on a then young Lily. She cannot bear the thought of a life without luxury though, and so she is set on marrying only if the man has money. At the same time, those men who do have money do not fill her emotional needs. The man whom she loves, Lawrence Seldon, cannot satisfy her financial needs, and yet she deliberately throws away the opportunities she has to set herself up financially for life.

An interesting aspect of Lily's character is the way she becomes morally stronger each time her position becomes a bit weaker. One suspects the Lily from early in the story would handle the challenges she faces later in the book much differently. She has opportunities to recover her position, but she will not behave in the manner necessary to accomplish it, to her credit. Her relationships with other people also become more real, and less based on superficial subject matter and conversation. This inverse relationship between morality and societal position appears in many of the other characters as well.

I found this to easily be her best novel, short or long, up to this point in her career. Her short fiction had been her stronger work prior to this, but "The House of Mirth" changes that as it is the first long work from Wharton which delivers on the promise that she showed with many of her short fiction works. I am rounding this one up to five stars.

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5.0 out of 5 stars From Timely to Timeless
Reading The House of Mirth today, it's easy to overlook the obvious: that it was not written as a "period piece," but as a modern novel. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Stephen John Vogel

5.0 out of 5 stars Mirthless house
America and Europe of the 1800s were stiff, gilded, formal place, full of "old" families, rigid customs and social transgressions. Especially for women. Read more

Published on May 16 2010 by E. A Solinas

4.0 out of 5 stars Mirthless "House"
America and Europe of the 1800s were stiff, gilded, formal place, full of "old" families, rigid customs and social transgressions. Especially for women. Read more

Published on Jun 5 2009 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at 19th Century New York Society
"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth" Ecclesiastes 7:4 KJV. Read more

Published on July 28 2007 by Misfit

4.0 out of 5 stars House of Girth
While I fully realize when, how, where, and by whom this book was written, frankly I had more than a little trouble getting through it. Read more

Published on July 21 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars The House of Typos
I'm not going to comment on the novel itself here. I'm just wondering whether they have proofreaders up at Barnes & Noble Classics. Read more

Published on July 1 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars What catty, evil characters this book has...
What I *love* about this book are the characters. The characters in this book are so spiteful and malicious that you can't help but find yourself drawn into the tragic story of... Read more

Published on Jun 21 2004 by Caradae Linore

5.0 out of 5 stars The enigma of Lily Bart
Can anyone truly tell me under what category our enigmatic Lily Bart should be placed? She's such....well.. Read more

Published on May 19 2004 by Chris Salzer

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't accept imitations
This is the original "Sex and the City" and a century and the alleged sexual revolution have not lessened its sting. Read more

Published on April 3 2004 by Dangle's girl

4.0 out of 5 stars Good piece of classical literature
For those individuals who complain about poorly developed characters, this is the book for you. Lily Bart, and most of the other characters in this novel, are well fleshed out... Read more

Published on Jan 20 2004 by K. Hughes

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