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    House of Mirth
    House of Mirth
    House of Mirth
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    House of Mirth

    Written by Edith Wharton

    Narrated by Joanna Cassidy

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    House of Mirth is centered on Lily Bart, a New York socialite who attempts to secure a husband and a place in affluent society. It was one of the first novels of manners to emerge in American literature.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAudio Holdings
    Release dateJan 1, 2009
    ISBN9781601360748
    Author

    Edith Wharton

    Edith Wharton was born in 1862 to a prominent and wealthy New York family. In 1885 she married Boston socialite 'Teddy' Wharton but the marriage was unhappy and they divorced in 1913. The couple travelled frequently to Europe and settled in France, where Wharton stayed until her death in 1937. Her first major novel was The House of Mirth (1905); many short stories, travel books, memoirs and novels followed, including Ethan Frome (1911) and The Reef (1912). She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature with The Age of Innocence (1920) and she was thrice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was also decorated for her humanitarian work during the First World War.

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    Reviews for House of Mirth

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    • 4/5
      One alternately wishes to smack Lily Bart and feels sorry for her. She is intelligent and has real scruples: she refuses, even in the distress of poverty, to use for blackmail the letters from the married Bertha Dorset to her former lover Lawrence Selden, even though the blackmail Simon Rosedale suggests to Lily would merely force Bertha to retract her lies about Lily and reinstate her in society. Moreover, Lily spends her entire inheritance paying back her debts, mostly to Gus Trenor, who gave her money in the expectation of sexual repayment when Lily naïvely thought he was investing her little income and making huge returns. On the other hand, her scruples bend to the extent of cruising the Mediterranean with the Dorsets when Bertha has made it fairly clear she is wanted to amuse George Dorset while Bertha dallies with her latest, Ned Silverton. When George realizes that Bertha and Ned have been out all night together and he makes a fuss, Bertha turns the light of scandal on Lily and pretends she is the guilty party who was out all night with her husband. This is the episode that precipitates Lily’s loss of her place in society and her aunt’s cutting her off with a tiny inheritance.Lily could have married Selden, who is “poor”—that is, he has to work for a living, as a lawyer. But she has been trained by her mother to abhor all that is “dingy”—that is, whatever isn’t opulent and rich. Yet she cannot bring herself to marry those who would provide this life for her: the priggish Percy Bryce or Simon Rosedale, whose repulsiveness seems to consist mostly in his being a Jew—Lily to her credit finds him less repulsive as the book goes on, but then she’s also getting poorer.The scenes between Selden and Lily have the conversational frisson of good Henry James, who was clearly the model for much of her fiction. Most agree that this is her best book.
    • 2/5
      Seeing this title as a Playaway audio book at my library finally convinced me to read(?) it. I also downloaded a print(?) version from Gutenburg.org for "backup." I kept getting frustrated with Lilly but finally realized my vexation was because she wouldn't do things my modern, middle class, socially liberated way. Then I got frustated with Edith Wharton for the "I can see it coming" cop-out ending, then realized it might have been quite stunning for her era, class, and upbringing. She further redeemed herself by making me wonder what the mystery "word" was.Angie: Ethan Fromme, Age of Innocence, and House of Mirth!
    • 4/5
      The House of Mirth was the selection for my book club this month. Maybe because it is on the classics shelf, my first thought was that this would be another delightful 'parasol' book. You know, the type where all the characters seem to enjoy 'taking a turn around the parlor.' How big were the parlors back then?? The House of Mirth is a timeless classic about social climbing and the status of women. Our discussion of this book lasted several hours and was not just idle speculation about women's lives during the fin de siecle in New York City, but the choices women have today. Edith Wharton's writing style is amazing. Members of my bookclub even had favorite quotes from the book saved to discuss (usually we focus on the food more than quotes from the book). If you are looking to pick up a classic that will lead to a great discussion, then this is it!
    • 5/5
      Moving and profoundly sad. Such a beautiful story written by a master of the English language. I cannot believe I waited so long to read this wonderful book.
    • 2/5
      Unfortunately this is going to be my first abandoned book of the year. I found Lily to be far to annoying for me to be able to finish the book. I listened to it on audio and I missed loads because I got distracted since the book didn’t keep my attention.The language was beautiful but did at times ramble. To my mind nothing really happened. Lily was to blame for her predicament in life. She was arrogant and entitled. She had a great deal of distain for all those around her. She was snobbish and plain annoying.What it did show quite well was how trapped women of Lily’s class were. If they were not independently wealthy they were dependent on a husband or on relatives. They had few chances to earn their own money and they weren’t educated to take care of themselves. This issue is of great interest to me and possibly why I stuck with the book for as long as I did.The narrator was actually quite good. She managed to capture the tone of Lily and her world very well. There was also none of the annoying music one sometimes gets with audio book.I really wish I had liked it more than I did. Maybe I will try and read a physical copy of it.
    • 2/5
      Seeing this title as a Playaway audio book at my library finally convinced me to read(?) it. I also downloaded a print(?) version from Gutenburg.org for "backup." I kept getting frustrated with Lilly but finally realized my vexation was because she wouldn't do things my modern, middle class, socially liberated way. Then I got frustated with Edith Wharton for the "I can see it coming" cop-out ending, then realized it might have been quite stunning for her era, class, and upbringing. She further redeemed herself by making me wonder what the mystery "word" was.Angie: Ethan Fromme, Age of Innocence, and House of Mirth!
    • 5/5
      A sad book that teaches everyone that SOCIETY, MONEY, NICE AND EXPENSIVE CLOTHES are not the most important things in our lives. Everyone can relate to Lily Bart. This is a classic book that still relates to us currently. I just wish there were more of Lily and Lawrence's moments. I would love to read more about them. If you're expecting that this is a love story then you're wrong, so wrong. I would love to see a "remake" with a different ending, a happy ever after ending.
    • 5/5
      I did my first real research report on The House of Mirth. It is the book that introduced me to the power of structure, and I continue to marvel at Wharton's masterful and intricate handling of this novel. The heroine is tragic, but not perfectly so. I love her and hate her by turns, but always always pity her and wish to save her and thank god I am not her.
    • 3/5
      ** spoiler alert ** This novel follows primarily a young socialite named Lily Bart as she slowly ruins her life, dropping from the most beloved of country dinner visitors to a working class girl with an addiction to a sleep aid. Although many call this a love story, I think this would be classified as a love story in only the loosest sense, and in the great tradition of novels like Gone with the Wind and Wuthering Heights. If anyone's actually in love, it's rarely if ever admitted and certainly not happy.When I began this book, without the slightest hint of what it might be about other than having previously read another of Wharton's works Ethan Frome, I assumed from the first chapter that the story would be a drawn out account of the changing of Lily's morals as she realizes that, obviously, Lawrence Selden (the pseudo "romantic interest") is the one for her, blah, blah, blah. As it turns out, Lily's morals change very little throughout the book, and her high standards of living combined with her strong moral fiber almost always ruin things for her. Why can't she just marry Selden and maintain her place in the social order and actually go a step up in her living conditions, if not achieving the wealth of which she dreams? Standards. Why can't she get over herself and marry Rosedale who will give her said wealth, even though she quite dislikes him? Standards. She simply can't be pleased. She won't marry for love and she won't marry for money - she's content to settle into old maidhood waiting for the perfect Mr. Right to come along. Meanwhile, her morals generally screw her over too. She has to stand by Bertha Dorset when she cheats! She can't use the love letters she found against her to regain her place and society and Rosedale's hand! She can't confess her undying love for Selden! But she's perfectly cool getting into various shady dealings with the Gormers, Mrs. Hatch and the chloral. Good God, Lily. She can't seem to decide what she wants and refuses to make the right decision throughout the book.Although I found Lily to be in character throughout, I found so many of her decisions frustratingly stupid and unambitious (combined with her thoroughly ambitious personality) that I found it hard to love Lily as much as I would have otherwise. So many times, salvation was within reach. Actually, she didn't even have to reach for it. All she had to do was say the word and be whisked away from her depressing and anticlimactic end...but nope. Her standards/morals always got in the way.Although I found the novel frustrating, slow and confusing (Wharton referred to characters exclusively by their first or last names for pages on end and then would spontaneously end, plus freaking everyone is related which is hard to remember) I did enjoy it. I would say it was really more of a 3.5 than a 3, a meh+ versus just a meh... But I also wouldn't quite say I "liked" it. I'm certainly glad I read it, but I'm also glad it's over.
    • 5/5
      The House of Mirth is usually viewed as a novel of New York society manners, which it is. The heroine is Lily Bart, an impoverished socialite, who lives off a small inheritance and her Aunt Julia’s generosity. She travels with the elite of New York society by being charming and beautiful; something she finds increasingly more difficult the older she gets. But the novel is also an example of a modern, secular vision of alienation in which Lily Bart faces an inability to reconcile her nature with the world around her. "A world in which such things could be seemed a miserable place to Lily Bart but then she had never been able to understand the laws of a universe which was so ready to leave her out of its calculation."(p 271)For Lily the tension increases until it becomes too great to manage. In spite of her difficulty in understanding the world around her I find Lily a sympathetic heroine. Her missed opportunities remind me of Phillip Carey in Maugham's Of Human Bondage who seemed to always disappoint in his choices. The classical beauty of Wharton's prose which resembles that of her friend, Henry James, with fewer recondite patches, makes this book appealing to read. One of her better novels, I would recommend this to readers who enjoy Howells and James.
    • 4/5
      The House of Mirth is the tragedy of twenty-nine-year old Lily Bart who commits a series of egregious social faux pas that guarantee her downfall. Vain, a tease, pretentious, weak and bit stupid, Lily flits though the upper striatum of New York Society with a naïveté that is at odds with her upbringing. Trading in on her beauty and ability to charm the company she keeps, she flirts and snubs through parties on her way to… what? Unable to define her goals and discriminate to that end, she sabotages her opportunities on the premise of some vague morality. Though impoverished when her father is financially ruined and forced to live in a more circumscribed situation than what she was used to, she is nonetheless acculturated with the ways of the upper crust and thrives in the orbit of the wealthy. She knows the rules, the ways of the rich; and yet, she makes a series of incredulous decisions that defy not only convention, but common sense.

      Edith Wharton has written a novel about societal Darwinism. Mrs. Astor’s 400 of The Gilded Age evolved, and arguably devolved, as established families lost money and standing and, new wealth and those of a “certain race” crept in. Those who failed to adapt would find themselves consigned to the fringes and even “out” altogether. The exposition of this process through a number of characters in the novel is extremely well portrayed, but none more so than with Lily herself. Lily finds herself caught in a time of transition into the new society at the turn of the century and struggling to adapt to newer circumstances. The novel is written with Lily’s voice and perspective (though technically in the 3rd person omniscient), yet, despite being privy to the inner workings of Lily’s mind which might lend understanding to her modus operandi, the reader finds a curious lack of the survival instinct.

      If there is a failing of the novel, it would be that the reader can never come into full sympathy with the protagonist. Whatever you may think of Lily, as a romantic figure, tragic victim, insipid socialite… it’s nearly impossible to know Lily herself. Perhaps this is because Lily doesn’t have a clear definition of herself either. The reader, like her friends, never really knows Lily and it results in a series of misunderstandings. How can you have faith in someone you don’t really know and can’t get a handle on? As one of Lily’s erstwhile friends, Carry Fisher put it when trying to explicate Lily’s situation, “…but I never could understand you, Lily!” Edith Wharton doe not give the reader a special insight into Lily so we can only judge her instead of love her.
    • 5/5
      This turn-of-the-century novel tells the story of Lily Bart, a beautiful woman caught between what her heart wants and she thinks she should want. When Lily is orphaned as a young woman, an aunt provides for her, leaving her cared for, but never wealthy. At age 29, Lily is still hoping to marry well, despite her financial problems. Yet every time she seems close to making a match, something causes her to withdraw a bit from her pursuit. I’ve read Wharton’s The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome and with each books I was impressed with the writing and restrained portrayals of the characters, but never more so than with this book. For me, The House of Mirth made me love Wharton, instead of just appreciating her. Wharton finds the most eloquent way to say things, but still manages to keep it simple and not overly-flowery. It’s not like Dickens, who I do love in a different way, but the man was wordy! She’s not writing to fit more words in each paragraph, instead it feels like things have been pared down until what’s left is only what is necessary to tell the compelling story.I read it slowly, savoring each line instead of barreling ahead. I didn’t want to miss anything and I found myself highlighting so many lines that I connected to. It felt like she had chosen each word so carefully and so in turn I wanted to make sure I gave each word its due as I read it. Lily Bart is a character so caught up in trying to attain what society tells her is the perfect life, that she completely denies her true feelings. She ignores what makes her happy and focuses all of her intelligence and planning into finding a wealthy husband of the right social standing. At a young age, her mother taught her that this was what was important in life and Lily never quite let go of that mindset. Lily has been raised to believe she needs a life of riches to be happy, but when she’s put in a position where those things might not be available to her anymore she doesn’t know what to do. She’s desperate and believes that her only choice is to sacrifice the life she thinks she loves or her happiness. It’s Madame Bovary without the selfish abandon in decision making.This is the quote that sums it all up for me…“…sometimes I think it’s because, at heart, she despises the things she’s trying for. And it’s the difficulty of deciding that makes her such an interesting study.” –Mrs. FisherThe scenes between Lily and her friend Seldon are electric. They are sprinkled throughout the book and so each time you stumble upon one it breathes new life into the story, just as it does in Lily’s own life. Their chemistry radiates off the page. There are so many men who want Lily and yet Seldon is the only one that makes her feel alive. She refuses to acknowledge even to herself, that she feels anything for him. “She knew herself by heart too, and was sick of the old story. There were moments when she longed blindly for anything different, anything strange, remote and untried; but the utmost reach of her imagination did not go beyond picturing her usual life in a new setting.” The few moments when she is truly happy are tucked away in her memory. She never allows herself to dwell on those moments of joy. Instead she focuses on whatever problem is at hand, financial or social. She believes her problems don’t exist if she escapes to another setting, so she’s constantly trying to run away from them. The transition that she goes through from the beginning of the novel to the end is startling. She’s so carefree and hopefully at the start. Her playful nature begins to drain away as her circumstances become direr. I loved the fact that despite having no idea how to achieve happiness in her life, she’s not helpless. She plans and schemes, often at her own expense, to solve her problems. She doesn’t wait around for someone to fix everything. She doesn’t make excuses for herself or allow herself to wallow in self-pity. She accepts the consequences of her actions, even if they sometimes seem unfair and I respect that. She’s proactive in her life and when she runs out of options, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to survive. I loved the character of Lily and the story grew on me as I read it. By the end I didn’t want to put it down and I know I’ll be returning to it in the future. “What Lily craved was the darkness made by enfolding arms, the silence which is not solitude, but compassion holding its breath.”“It had always seemed to Seldon that experience offered a great deal besides the sentimental adventure, yet he could vividly conceive of a love which should broaden and deepen till it became the central fact of life.”
    • 3/5
      Interesting from a historical perspective and at moments still contains relevant observations about the shallow and materialistic lives of wealthy Americans. The social manners and high sentimentality might be dull for most contemporary readers, but it still retains value.
    • 4/5
      The House of Mirth is my first Edith Wharton book so I really knew nothing about her writing style. I spent most of the book completely torn. Do I feel bad for Miss Lily Bart? She gets herself into many of the same situations girls are plagued with today. Lily was raised in high society. She was taught no different. Then I wonder if she should just grow up, wake up, and see what's happening around her. She does see it. She knows what it takes to truly be happy. Ingrained habits must be hard to break.

      Overall, this story led me to ponder on women's roles in society. There is more diversity now; more education, however the "games" between man and woman will never change.
    • 4/5
      She usually contrived to avoid being at home during the season of domestic renewal. ... She had so long been accustomed to pass from one country-house to another, till the close of the holidays brought her friends to town, that the unfilled gaps of time confronting her produced a sharp sense of waning popularity. It was as she had said to Selden -- people were tired of her. (p. 149)Such is the plight of Lily Bart, the tragic heroine of The House of Mirth. At twenty-nine, Lily finds herself unmarried and, upon her mother's death, left without visible means of support. She realizes a husband would provide much-needed security, not to mention the income required to maintain her lavish lifestyle. Yet Lily is so self-absorbed, she unknowingly ruins just about every marriage opportunity presented to her. Lily is terribly naive about the effects of her behavior on others. When she slights a potential suitor, she brushes it off as a matter of little consequence. She is both surprised and hurt when the gentleman abruptly leaves the party. Lily is also completely ignorant of financial matters. After losing a large sum of money at bridge, she allows a friend's husband to invest what was left of her money in the stock market. The investments are profitable, but Lily's appetite for luxury still exceeds the available funds. And, to make matters worse, the investor has definite ideas as to how Lily should "repay" him. Lily has only a couple true friends, notably a young man named Lawrence Selden. Selden's love for Lily is obvious to the reader, but not to the characters. Lily treats him more like a big brother, dismissing thoughts of marrying Selden and setting her sights on wealthier prospects.In the second half of the novel Lily's relationship and financial difficulties only get worse, and while Lily has a vague idea that things are not as they should be, she prefers to keep her head in the sand. This made for difficult reading; many times I wanted to take Lily by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Then, about 50 pages from the end there was a juicy bit of foreshadowing. The rest of the book was like watching a horror film with partially-covered eyes. Was Wharton really going to do what I thought she'd do? Well, I won't say any more on that ... I'll just say that the ending was fitting.Edith Wharton is known for her portrayal of New York society at the turn of the 20th century. Much of her work also addresses the rights of women, and in particular the impact of divorce. In House of Mirth, Wharton echoes Virginia Woolf's message that a woman must have "a room of her own and 500 pounds." Lily lacked both, making her extremely vulnerable. And, she had virtually no ability to change her circumstances. Add to that a frivolous attitude, and you have a cautionary tale indeed.
    • 5/5
      Since I can't seem to find a way to some it up on my own, here's a description from the back of one of the editions: "Lily Bart, beautiful, witty, and sophisticated, is accepted by "old money" and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears 30, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing and to maintain her life in the luxury she has come to expect. While many have sought her, something—fastidiousness or integrity—prevents her from making a "suitable" match."Lily was raised to love splendor and wealth and to be an ornament in that world. She cannot help but strive for the comfort and ease (even if it is marked by falsehoods) that that world offers. And yet there is a part of her that strives for some greater, higher ideal, some deeper truth beyond the finery. Her downfall is in part due to circumstance (being a woman in her time period and raised to desire wealth and shun shabbiness) and in part due to her own poor choices. There are many times she could have prevented a mishap, only to blindly (out of naiveté) or purposefully (out of selfishness and her desire for wealth) step right into it. And many other times she could have saved herself, only to reject it due to her own sense of morality. Witnessing her mistakes is to see all the little ways she is guilty, while simultaneously discovering the multitude of ways she is innocent. It's all just so profoundly human.The story was easy to follow and compelling to read. the scenes unfolding with eloquent language and open frankness. By the end of the book, i found that my commute wasn't long enough and I sat in my car upon arriving home listening to the conclusion, unable to wait until morning. I often cry at books and movies; I'm easily moved (sometimes even a TV commercial will illicit a few tears). But this was an experience beyond mere crying. This was me with my hands pressed to my face, snot running out of my nose, abjectly weeping in the front seat of my car. I can't fully express why this book plucked that inner string in me, but it did.I'm sure a part of it was the spectacular reading given by Eleanor Bron (who also, as it turns out, played Lily's Aunt Peniston in the 2000 movie adaptation) in the audio. She strikes just the right tone of reserve and emotions, her voice soothing and adaptable to each character. I don't know if my wrought emotional reaction would have been the same had I read it in text, but that's not something one can speculate on, since each individual experience is based on a multitude of circumstances that can't be recreated.All I know, is I started this book thinking I would merely enjoy it, and ended it being madly in love.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the book and found the insights into human nature and societydepicted in a clever way-- especially if you enjoy biting cynicism.The surprising thing was how much my feelings towards Lily changed though thebook. From a disdainful "you derserve it you arrogant Bit&@" to "God, the poorwoman-- she is trying but their are no options..." Watching her change as aresult of her environment was refreshing, though ultimately tragic.
    • 5/5
      Materialistic NY society in the fin de siecle literally crushes Lily Bart to death under the weight of its code. There is no possibility for a young single woman to have a life of her own, an honorable occupation, or a visible means of support.She exists only as a marital prospect, and that only for a short decade, during which time a single slight misstep can spell utter ruin of reputation and prospects. If after that time, she remains unmarried, her desperation is neither pitied nor remedied but used as an indictment against her.Lily Bart, motherless and dependent on her aunt, exists only as a fortune hunter restricted to finding herself a husband attached to the purse. But fortunes attract fortunes, and Lily has none of her own, only expensive tastes. One misstep is followed by another and another. Disastrous financial decisions, a naivete concerning Gus Treanor, her friend, Judy’s husband who “invests” her meager savings on the basis of vague speculator tips, a manipulated indebtedness to Mr. Rosedale, a man who is despised by a society riddled with racism against his Jewishness, and her own misplaced effort to protect her friend Laurence Selden from the humiliating evidence of undestroyed letters from a married woman with whom he had a liason combine to effect Lily’s ruin.In an effort to escape her downward spiral she accepts an invitation from Bertha Dorset to join her and her husband, George, on a cruise of Europe aboard their yacht only to be accused by Bertha of adultery with George in order to hide her own affair with Nate Silverton. Again, she tries to shield Selden. But it is too much and Lily, having been disinherited by her aunt has nowhere to go but down.Wharton’s “novel of manners” written a century and a half after Austen’s novels on that subject and moved to the US shows a society just as perversely aligned against maidens of a certain age. The environment of both NYC and Bath is akin to a tank filled with patrolling fish – some of whom are sharks, some of whom are bait.
    • 3/5
      Not bad, some good, powerful moments and discussions on love.
    • 3/5
      At first this novel seemed to be an American version of Vanity Fair, only not as good. I found Lily to be a bit annoying which I never thought about Becky Sharpe. As the story proceeded, I realized that despite some similarities with Thackeray's work, The House of Mirth was its own story. Unfortunately, although my sympathy for Lily grew, she remained on the whole irritating.
    • 5/5
      "Once she's talked about she's done for." Lily Bart knew all of the rules of society, but she refused to follow them, out of pride, naiveness, stubbornness and integrity. This led to her downfall. This book demonstrated the snobbishness and hypocrisy of the society in which Lily lived, but she did not rebel against it, in fact she was raised to be a part of it and loved the glitter and comfort and wanted more of the same. However, she suffered from the problem of being a poor relation with expensive tastes. Opportunities for women were very limited and marriage was the only viable option for Lily to obtain the life she desired. Unfortunately, her miscalculations and missed opportunities made it impossible for her to achieve her goal. Lily's inability to climb her way out of her situation led to a very tragic story.This book had all the bright, sparkling language and penetrating observations for which Wharton is known. The fact that Lily was not a totally sympathetic character made the story more realistic and more disturbing. Wharton has definitely become one of my favorite authors.I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Wanda McCaddon was excellent.
    • 3/5
      I've finally finished Edith Wharton's classic novel of manners but unfortunately the tragic fate of Lily Bart didn't stir my emotions. There are some points in the novel where you think she may be coming to her senses but over all her character just frustrated me. I did, however, really enjoy the Terence Davies directed adaptation and Gillian Anderson adds much more subtlety and depth to the character of Miss Bart than the text ever did.
    • 4/5
      No mirth in this sad story of the decline of a beautiful woman in 1890's New York. No grins at all. Not one smile. Edith Wharton, I surmise, would have easily made the cut as an Oprah selection. Lily Bart is stunningly beautiful but poor, and ladies of her day had few choices about changing their life situation. Marriage, a good marriage to a rich and interesting man, eludes Lily, and the years are hard on her. Gossip begins to follow her, though none of it is warranted, and every day brings more and more misery. It won't surprise you to learn that the story ends in Lily's death.
    • 5/5
      Lily Bart is a young woman born into New York's Golden Age society.In order to maintain her place in society, she must marry wisely. Being orphaned, she must look to herself to make a good match. As Lily says "...when a girl has no mother to palpitate for her, she must be on the alert for herself."Even with the advantages of beauty, ambition, wiles, and great delicacy, Lily, without an interested party to look out for her, makes a series of fatal mistakes.The inexorableness of Lily's fate, only whispered and hinted at at first, becomes more and more clear as the novel progresses until the reader is led to the inescapable conclusion. I felt as if I were firmly in the authors's deft hands through the entire book, although the author, herself, never intruded on the story once.Wharton has got to be one of the most gifted writers of all-time!
    • 5/5
      This book reminded me of when I used to tutor a particular 15-year-old boy. I'd arrive and he'd be snacking and watching this dreadful MTV reality show called “My Super Sweet Sixteen”. I used to spend a lot of time over there, so I caught enough bits and pieces of it to feel thoroughly revolted.

      Those of you in the USA have probably seen it – it follows over-privileged kids as they organize and throw their lavish 16th birthday parties. But what I find scary about it aren't the 6-figure cars these kids get, but the sense of entitlement floating in the air. These children think that if they want something they will automatically get it – what's more, they think if they want something bad enough, that means they deserve it.

      I remember standing there one day, waiting for my pupil to rinse his glass, and being overcome by a crushing feeling of pity. Because I really wanted to slap the kid on the TV, but at the same time I knew, with an overwhelming certainty, that this girl was never going to be truly happy, ever. Even if their parents could keep this up, this sort of entitled, shallow upbringing can only lead to frustration, one way or the other. What a waste of a perfectly good life.

      I thought a lot about this moment while reading The House of Mirth. I felt sorry for Lily Bart, while hating her at the same time. I wanted to slap her, while knowing it wasn't her fault that she was the way she was. I wanted her to make up her mind, and at the same time dreaded every one of the options she had.

      For make no mistakes – she does have options. A few of us at Bookish were discussing whether this was feminist literature or not. If feminist literature aims to portray women's lack of possibilities as constraining the female character, then this is not your average feminist book (I know, I know, but bear with me for a minute). Lily Bart does in fact have a few options to choose from, even though they would all entail some measure of dependence from other people. But none of these ever crystallize into anything tangible, because she won't make up her mind.

      Wharton tries to imply that she's secretly an idealist, and she may be subconsciously sabotaging her own attempts at marrying money. But in fact, for most of the book she doesn't openly defy the system – mostly, she's just angry that she can't find a rich man to support her (she wants one, so she should have one, right?). Her moral scruples only show up when she's already put herself in a compromising position and she needs to save what little self-respect she has left. She is not an idealist, not in practice – she wants to work within the system.

      Yet the very system of which she is a result has no place for her. She's a highly specialized product, an ornamental object, the Gilded Age in its most extreme expression - and as such, she's so profoundly dysfunctional she can't bring herself to make a choice for her future, because none of her options are even remotely acceptable. This world is so messed up, its own product can't function within it.

      Watching Lily shy away from at least 4 potential husbands, a few socialite patrons and even an opportunity for blackmail can get annoying after a while (“will you make up your mind already? I have stuff to do, you know?!”). But it also brings me back to my thoughts that day, watching “My Super Sweet Sixteen”. I vaguely thought that this world was f'd up if it was capable of creating such a monstrous thing as that over-entitled 16-year-old. This kid was the product of an environment that was condemning her, by effect of her upbringing, to be chronically dissatisfied for the rest of her life.

      The world that Ms. Wharton portrays in her book is just as monstrous. And if it did this to people, and those people were mostly women, then by the FSM, this book serves its purpose, and it definitely is a feminist book.
    • 5/5
      I read "The house of mirth" for reading group in July, which proved to be an interesting choice, especially immediately after getting married! After spending most of the book being puzzled about what it's got to do with mirth (it's not exactly, erm, mirthful), and not doing something sensible like looking it up on Librarything, I discovered that everyone else at reading group had a different edition, and that edition included an helpful introduction which included an explanation of the title! It comes from the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7: 4 - "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." That makes a whole lot more sense! The book follows Lily, who is basically on the shelf at the age of 29 and becoming increasingly desperate to assure her place in society by getting married to some suitable man. Whereas she was once at the centre of society she is now heading to its outer edges. She does love a man, but he isn't really in the right class so not an option. The society revolves around the social niceties and not putting a foot wrong. Lily slowly sinks further and further. At times I got very frustrated with her - why didn't she just get a job and support herself? - kept creeping into my mind. But it does become clear that she was never brought up with any idea of having to do that and has no skills or talents other than being an ornament. It is hard to identify with her as she is SO far removed from the world we're in now, but it's only 100 or so years ago (first published in 1905)! It also made me very glad that I do live now, especially with the life parallels, having just got married!
    • 4/5
      House of Mirth is one of those classics you read to analyze society from several different angles: society and the woman's role it in; society and the pitfalls of economic status (or lack there of); society and the role of etiquette. House of Mirth is the book you read in college, in grad school and then go on to write about in your dissertation.In a nutshell, Lily Bart is an orphaned young woman desperate to keep up with the Joneses. She is in love with status and wealth. After her father's ruin and subsequent death, Lily's mother pins her hopes of future fortunes on her daughter's good looks. Only she too passes before Lily can put her beauty to good use and be married off to some wealthy bachelor. Lily is then taken in by a wealthy relation who tests Lily's morality in the face of greed and luxury. In a modern spin, Lily is a classic gold digger, looking to "land" a prosperous mate at whatever cost.
    • 4/5
      Wharton was an extraordinary sociologist specializing in her own class: the rich. Page 53 is unbelievably smart and beautifully tailored. We are in the world of Balzac thematically and James stylistically. I had difficulty entering the story because of her reliance on summary. The most exquisite parts were these descriptions which while placed erratically nonetheless showed you that despite the intellect and the judgement and the constant assessment, Wharton loved the dilated moments where the narrative paused and we were allowed to see where we were..and Wharton could it turns out paint with light. It was almost a hundred and fifty pages before I found myself hooked. The men are all weak and while they survive because they have a clearer understanding of the transactional nature of the world, they offer little. The exception is Selden and I have to say that the problem with both Wharton's scenes with him as well as her handling of the confrontation with Trenor are so obscured and indirectly dealt with that I was never sure what was going on. I know she couldn't talk about sex but it all felt so unclear. The book is dated because of what was written only a few years later namely Joyce but as a 19th century aesthetic it is a remarkably, and one feels true picture of America in that time.
    • 3/5
      After seeing the movie and wanting more detail, I got this for free on my Kindle. It focused on the life of a young unmarried woman in the early 1900s and her search for a well-provided-for life. She started out with some money but eventually ended up broke, missing a few opportuniites to marry into wealth because of her erratic behavior, as well as not recognizing who really loved her.
    • 4/5
      Edith Wharton gives a searing portrait of New York high society at the turn of the 20th century. Lily Barton is a woman captivated and immersed in the society of the super rich. She desperately wants to belong to the inner circle with its world of luxury and leisure. She is beautiful and charming and is confident in her social skills to maneuver adroitly among society’s denizens. She has two liabilities, though. She is thirty years-old and unmarried and she is not rich. Her father once had a fortune and her society-obsessed mother gave Lily an unquenchable thirst for the life style of the top echelon of class. Her father lost his money in a business failure and soon after he and her mother died. Lily is living on a small inheritance and allowance from an elderly spinster aunt. Lily’s cousin, Gert, lives a more practical life of community service that Lily thinks is not admirable and which she has no desire to emulate. Lily knows she must marry money if she is to maintain her position among the elite. She knows that love will be entirely secondary, if present at all; social status is all that matter to her. She is close to Lawrence Selden, an attorney who, while welcomed in her circle for his charm, has not the financial means that will support her needs. She is clear with Selden that while she has affection for him their marriage is out of the question. She meets Percy Gryce, a young man with a large fortune who she is sure she can capture. Percy is also dull and boring, but Lily knows she will have to bear this to achieve her greater goal.Lily makes some mistakes. After visiting Selden in his apartment (something a single woman should not do) she is spotted by Simon Rosedale, a Jewish business man who cannot be part of society due to his race, but is tolerated by the upper elite because his business acumen is useful to them. Rosedale indicates that he may use the scandal of Lily’s visit with Selden at some time in the future. While on a stay at a party in a country estate, Lily is working toward snaring Percy but he spots her in a scene of mild amorousness with Selden and he drops her in favor of another woman. Lily is desperate for money so she takes advice from Gus Trenor, the husband of her friend, on investments and there is a good return on her investment. Later she realizes that Gus has actually given her the money as part of his romantic intentions toward her. He entices her to his town house on the pretext that his wife wants to see her, where he tries to seduce her. Her visit here becomes known, furthering the scandalous reputation she has acquired.Lily is so beautiful and charming and attractive to the husbands of her friends that they begin to cut her out of their crowd. She is finally ostracized when she is set up by a rival on the false story that Lily has tried to seduce her husband. She tries a number of approaches to regaining her position but nothing works. Rosedale had asked for her hand a year before and she rejected him as socially unacceptable, but now in her desperation she approaches his with her reconsideration. To her shock he says no and gives as the reason that his entry into society’s ranks through her is not longer possible due to the aura of scandal surrounding her. Lily continues to decline in status and spirit. Her aunt dies and Lily expects to receive her modest estate, but she learns that she has so alienated the aunt that the inheritance goes to another niece. She finally is forced to take work in a millinery shop and live in a seamy boarding house. She can never reconcile herself to a life outside of the halls of society and by the end she is suffering from emotional angst and to combat her chronic insomnia she takes sleeping draughts every night. One night she unintentionally takes too large a dose and she dies.Wharton’s book is a blistering depiction of the shallow vacuousness and nastiness of society in the gilded age. The unwritten rules that govern one’s place in society were arbitrary and cruel. Lily had many attributes that she could have used to break free from this world – her beauty, intelligence and charm – but she was so drawn to it that she could see no alternative style of living. She was dependent on others to maintain her standing since she hadn’t the fortune that otherwise would have secured it. The jealousy and vindictiveness of her friends and associates made her an outcast and she could do nothing but scheme to get back in the grace of society. Lily is more than a victim, however. She is so compelled to be a part of this social class that she has closed off any alternatives to it.