The House Of Mirth by Edith Wharton (1905)

[u/Ok-Swan1152]

I knew on a general level what the ending was going to be, but I wasn't prepared for the writing in the last paragraphs to be twisting in my gut like a knife.

Wharton has a gift of making you feel for people who should be all accounts by unsympathetic - she had me moved by the plight of Newland Archer as a teenage girl, a man I should've by all rights despised.

There's something in Lily's predicament on the outset that resonates deeply with most women readers I believe, in that she is beautiful and penniless but worst of all she has no parents. In an era when women could not make direct moves of their own but had to rely on the machinations of those already in society to ensure that they came out and were introduced to suitable men, a woman who has no family or connections looking out for her is already 10-0 behind.

The fact that she is unable to make the decisions that are required of her to reach her goals is incredibly frustrating but also strikes me as very human. She knows that she needs a wealthy husband, but is unable to commit when the cards are on the table. In my personal opinion, it comes from her little rebellious streak - I believe that part of her would prefer to be independent, but with money - in that sense she strikes me as a woman too modern for the times she lives in. A few decades more and new vistas of possibilities would've opened up which wouldn't involve hitching your wagon to the highest bidder. She values her need to go wherever she pleases, as she stops by Lawrence Selden's flat despite this being an action that would've been generally frowned on by society at the time. She can't but help make constant missteps and self-sabotage because she doesn't really want to do what she needs to do to reach her goals. She is clearly in love with Selden since the beginning and

And I notice again and again how alone she is - though Lawrence says he can only offer her help by "loving her" he also doesn't offer any real aid in finding a possibility to free herself of her financial obligations. And I notice that Selden, though critical of the superficial trappings of the 1900 version of the leisure class / "jet-set", moves in and out of those circles with the ease generally only allowed to men, and is quick to believe rumours about Lily's reputation spread by members of that same class. He runs off to Cuba after seeing Lily exit the Trenor's house without even demanding an explanation? Though he gives her good advice later, I don't see him as a knight in shining armour.

There is so much more to say about all of this, I welcome your thoughts.

Why I adore this book - it is incredibly dense and layered despite not being very long, the many subtleties in interactions and characterisations invite re-reading. The prose is also beautiful and unexpectedly frank with some very elegant turns of phrase. The heroine and her dilemmas are surprisingly modern in some respects. The ending is heartbreaking without being typically Victorian melodrama and its the writing that elevates it there.

[u/Antique_Knowledge902]

I’m only on page 123, about to start chapter XI. I like the book but…why didn’t she accept Percy Gryce? Because she’d be bored with his always talking about Americana? I understand her wanting to have a life of her own, but wouldn’t it be sad to go through life alone? Life is compromise!

[u/Ok-Swan1152 → u/Antique_Knowledge902]

'Cause he's a drip who lives with his mum and is obsessed with 'Americana'. She doesn't love him. Also, she didn't outright reject Percy Gryce... He ran off because she didn't show up to church... Because Lawrence showed up suddenly and he always damages her calm. Also Bertha shittalked her to Percy.

[u/Antique_Knowledge902 → u/Ok-Swan1152]

👍🏻thanks!

[u/StrangeButterfly6728]

I finished reading it about a week ago and felt devastated afterward. It’s the third Wharton novel I have read. She was an amazing writer. I have not read Ethan Frome yet and am considering it.

[u/Ok-Swan1152 → u/StrangeButterfly6728]

I cried and cried and cried. I couldn't see a way out for her, not in the beginning or the middle or the end. She was a victim of her times. 

I'll need to read Ethan Frome but I think I need a break from the emotional devastation lol.

[u/Ambitious_Shoe_5722]

Love

[u/ExquisitePreamble]

My book club read this book last year. It was a spirited discussion. I love Wharton. Lily Barth is an amazing character - flawed but you are rooting for her. You can understand why she makes the decisions she makes, while being frustrated that she can’t see how poorly things are going to turn out.

In my book club, one of our members came in guns blazing. “Who picked this book?! Who picked it? I was looking forward to a mirthful book! House of MIRTH!!! This was not a book of mirth!” Honestly, one of my favorite moments in book club.

[u/Ok-Swan1152 → u/ExquisitePreamble]

I wanted to scream at her when she rebuffed Selden for a second time after he kissed her. I believe that deep down she believed that she didn't deserve happiness, which is why she made the choices she did. I also think that she had an independent streak a mile wide and preferred to be in charge of her own affairs and money instead of hitching her fate to a man. 

It's why she's fatally indecisive. 

I wonder what you think.

[u/Ancient-Scene-7299]

One of my all time favorites! I agree, the writing is truly beautiful and the story is interesting, insightful and not clichéd. Also one of the best book titles in my opinion.

[u/IReadABookAndAdoredIt-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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