2021 Reprint of the 1906 Edition. "A staple in my feminist theory and sex-gender courses, this novel provides endless opportunities for discussion of the situation of women, of performing 'feminine, ' and of the insecurities and dangers for women in a society with limited economic possibilities." ―Paula Backscheider, Auburn University. The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, aged 29, beautiful, impoverished and in need of a rich husband to safeguard her place in the social elite, and to support her ...
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2021 Reprint of the 1906 Edition. "A staple in my feminist theory and sex-gender courses, this novel provides endless opportunities for discussion of the situation of women, of performing 'feminine, ' and of the insecurities and dangers for women in a society with limited economic possibilities." ―Paula Backscheider, Auburn University. The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, aged 29, beautiful, impoverished and in need of a rich husband to safeguard her place in the social elite, and to support her expensive habits - her clothes, her charities, and her gambling. Unwilling to marry without both love and money, Lily becomes vulnerable to the kind of gossip and slander which attach to a girl who has been on the marriage market for too long. Wharton charts the course of Lily's life, providing, along the way, a wider picture of a society in transition, a rapidly changing New York where the old certainties of manners, morals and family have disappeared, and the individual has become an expendable commodity.
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Add this copy of The House of Mirth (Paperback Or Softback) to cart. $10.76, new condition, Sold by BargainBookStores rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Grand Rapids, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2021 by Martino Fine Books.
Loved the outlay. Was very fascinating. Light and fun.
Jigglyman
Aug 1, 2008
Wonderful and tragic to a point
The House of Mirth is about the tragic fall from grace of a beautiful New York socialite, Lily Bart. The story chronicles her desperate search for a husband as society gradually rejects her. Edith Wharton writes a very revealing, critical study of high-class society in the Gilded Age that is fascinating in part because it is at once unfamiliar and very similar to modern-day society. Her characters are well-crafted, she writes very well, and the subject matter is very interesting, if not at some points a bit dry and superficial.
According to Aristotle, tragedy is about making "fatal choices," and it is Wharton's exploitation of this idea that makes the book falter. Lily Bart makes so many fatal choices it's hard not to choke on them. It seems like every page, she makes a choice that is obviously (to the reader) a bad idea. No woman can possibly be this daft so often. Her character is only falling from grace because Wharton so desperately wants her to. (Oh, and she never LEARNS!) The shoddy character development brings this book down to 4/5 stars.
