Essay - House of Mirth the House of Mirth by Edith Wharton...

House of Mirth

***** House of Mirth by Edith Wharton addresses the issues of class and gender faced ***** Western society during the beginning ***** the twentieth century. The main character is Lily Bart, at 29 on her way to spinsterhood. As such, she faces a number of social and gender stereotypes as ********** apply to herself. In the end she is unable ***** reconcile her feelings with what she sees as ***** role in society, and commits suicide as a result.

The first case ***** particular g*****er expectation as ***** by the society of the time can be found in Part I of ***** book. Lily v*****its her male friend Selden, whose bachelor flat ***** envies. It is not common in the ***** ***** the time for young girls to live in flats ***** themselves be*****e they are married. Lily complains that it is "a miser*****ble thing...to be a wom*****n" for this re*****on. She appears to crave the freedom of circumstance that would have been hers had she been a man. She does not however admire or envy ***** who do own their own *****, for a v*****riety of reasons. When Selden for example highlights Gerty Farish as an example of a girl living by herself in a flat, Lily is very careful to po*****t out the difference between herself and ***** un*****tunate Gerty. Gerty ***** not, in Lily's view, marriageable. While she therefore laments ***** rebels the fate ***** having to ***** ***** a patroness until she is *****, Lily nevertheless gladly subm*****s to this expectation of her gender. She would rat***** live richly from the income of her patrons than on her own with the reputati***** ***** being a governess, ***** spinster, or indeed un*****.

Gender ***** often goes hand-in-hand with class expectation in Wharton's novel. Lily's views regarding the char-woman that crosses her path on more than one occasion is ***** such example. ***** the society of the time, there is a very definite class distinction between the upper and lower classes. The lower classes are expected to be poor ***** ***** have to work for ***** money. This ***** is substantiated ***** ***** characterization of the *****. She was stout, with an altogether *****pleasant appearance, emphasized by her face, her small-pox scarred skin, her thin hair and her shining scalp. Lily takes all this in ***** the reader is sh***** through her eyes the distaste she has ***** the ***** classes. ***** tak*****g this into account, her reaction to the servant's st***** in ***** II ***** the novel ***** somewhat strange, although also *****dicative of ***** propriety expected ***** her class. When descending the stairs from Selden's apartment, ***** is at the same time annoyed ***** the char-woman's body in her way as she passes, and embarrassed because she comes from a *****'s flat. This shows her submission ***** the ***** expectations of her time. Her feelings as ***** moves further away ***** the woman ***** shows her acceptance of the class standards of the