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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I'm so glad that I gave Edith Wharton another chance as I absolutely loved it! Lily Bart is definitely the kind of unlikable but human character that I grew to love and pity. In the beginning it feels that the only thing Lily loves in the world is money as she struggles through financial difficulties but thorough the novel she grows as a character and you can see that she is really a compassionate person with feelings. Wharton manages to draw out characters from real life but Lily shines above everyone. I found myself enjoying Wharton's writing style a lot more in this than The Age of Innocence and will definitely work myself through her other novels in the future.
I've tried to read this twice and can't get past page 50. Not interesting.
Possible trigger warnings: gambling addiction, possible suicide, classism
Ahh Lily…what am I to do with you?!lol She is both exasperating and tragic, but I missed the “tragic” component the first time I read this book.
The first time I met Lily I just didn’t “get” her and she annoyed the crap out of me, I was too irritated to “think deep” and critically about her character. This time? She still exasperated the crap out of me (LOL) but I have sympathy for her and can understand better why she is the way she is.
Lily is not only a product of the high class NY society of the time, but also the trappings and emotional and psychological demands of her mother, who was never satisfied, squandered their wealth, and foisted all of her hopes of “returning” to their proper place on the “marketable” beauty of her daughter (as a hook to catch a wealthy suitor). Her mother also foisted all of her despondency and dissatisfaction when things did not work out on Lily. What a horrible burden for a child…a woman…to grow up thinking that all of her worth and value as a human being is tied up on her pretty face. Her mother also did Lily a disservice by raising her to think she was better than others (even the “rich” relatives she came to depend upon), so there is that constant thread of dissatisfaction and superiority in her dealings with others.
Lily needed to secure her financial security through an advantageous marriage and did everything she could to make it happen. She was beautiful and knew this was her “ticket” to secure a wealthy husband. Yet, whether consciously or not, she would self-sabotage at every turn. Like she said “Younger and plainer girls had been married off by dozens, and she was nine-and-twenty, and still Miss Bart.” This is the infuriating part about Lily. She “wants” money (“she knew she hated dinginess as much as her mother had hated it, and to her last breath she meant to fight against it, dragging herself up again and again above its flood till she gained the bright pinnacles of success which presented such a slippery surface to her clutch.”) and knows it will take work (and her beauty) but refuses suitors, makes mistakes, poor alliances, etc., which take her further away from her goals. Why? Is it that at heart, she does not want to be part of it? That she is trying to please her dead mother by becoming what she is expected to be? Does her emotionally distant father, who only served as an inadequate provider in her mother’s mind, failed her and she does not trust? These things are not fleshed out, which is what makes the writing so good and the reason I missed so much the first time around.
We get glimpses of her insight as to her unsuitability to be part of her “society.” There’s a section in the beginning where her relative, who is trying to “secure” Mr. Selden for Lily (or at least help Lily secure him) by keeping another woman (Bertha) away says: “Every one knows you’re a thousand times handsomer and cleverer than Bertha; but then you’re not nasty. And for always getting what she wants in the long run, commend me to a nasty woman.” This pretty much encapsulates Lily’s inability to “swim” in the toxic and competitive miasma of her high class world. She is unable to “sink” those around her, even to save herself and this is the tragic part. She could have ensured her own existence in that world, but she burned the letters. She could have married Selden but he was not rich enough. Never mind she kept digging a bigger hole with debts and decidedly stupid (I use this word sparingly but she should have seen the writing on the wall, hence my opinion as to self-sabotage) alliances resulting in ruination and getting further away from the “world” she craved.
This “money hunger,” insecurities, sense of superiority and her own inability to lower expectations combined with her lack of deviousness and meanness leads to an unsurprising end and the belated sad realizations by Selden. Lily may be contrary, entitled, and exasperating, but she was not “nasty” enough for her world. I missed that the first time I met her.
Ahh Lily…what am I to do with you?!lol She is both exasperating and tragic, but I missed the “tragic” component the first time I read this book.
The first time I met Lily I just didn’t “get” her and she annoyed the crap out of me, I was too irritated to “think deep” and critically about her character. This time? She still exasperated the crap out of me (LOL) but I have sympathy for her and can understand better why she is the way she is.
Lily is not only a product of the high class NY society of the time, but also the trappings and emotional and psychological demands of her mother, who was never satisfied, squandered their wealth, and foisted all of her hopes of “returning” to their proper place on the “marketable” beauty of her daughter (as a hook to catch a wealthy suitor). Her mother also foisted all of her despondency and dissatisfaction when things did not work out on Lily. What a horrible burden for a child…a woman…to grow up thinking that all of her worth and value as a human being is tied up on her pretty face. Her mother also did Lily a disservice by raising her to think she was better than others (even the “rich” relatives she came to depend upon), so there is that constant thread of dissatisfaction and superiority in her dealings with others.
Lily needed to secure her financial security through an advantageous marriage and did everything she could to make it happen. She was beautiful and knew this was her “ticket” to secure a wealthy husband. Yet, whether consciously or not, she would self-sabotage at every turn. Like she said “Younger and plainer girls had been married off by dozens, and she was nine-and-twenty, and still Miss Bart.” This is the infuriating part about Lily. She “wants” money (“she knew she hated dinginess as much as her mother had hated it, and to her last breath she meant to fight against it, dragging herself up again and again above its flood till she gained the bright pinnacles of success which presented such a slippery surface to her clutch.”) and knows it will take work (and her beauty) but refuses suitors, makes mistakes, poor alliances, etc., which take her further away from her goals. Why? Is it that at heart, she does not want to be part of it? That she is trying to please her dead mother by becoming what she is expected to be? Does her emotionally distant father, who only served as an inadequate provider in her mother’s mind, failed her and she does not trust? These things are not fleshed out, which is what makes the writing so good and the reason I missed so much the first time around.
We get glimpses of her insight as to her unsuitability to be part of her “society.” There’s a section in the beginning where her relative, who is trying to “secure” Mr. Selden for Lily (or at least help Lily secure him) by keeping another woman (Bertha) away says: “Every one knows you’re a thousand times handsomer and cleverer than Bertha; but then you’re not nasty. And for always getting what she wants in the long run, commend me to a nasty woman.” This pretty much encapsulates Lily’s inability to “swim” in the toxic and competitive miasma of her high class world. She is unable to “sink” those around her, even to save herself and this is the tragic part. She could have ensured her own existence in that world, but she burned the letters. She could have married Selden but he was not rich enough. Never mind she kept digging a bigger hole with debts and decidedly stupid (I use this word sparingly but she should have seen the writing on the wall, hence my opinion as to self-sabotage) alliances resulting in ruination and getting further away from the “world” she craved.
This “money hunger,” insecurities, sense of superiority and her own inability to lower expectations combined with her lack of deviousness and meanness leads to an unsurprising end and the belated sad realizations by Selden. Lily may be contrary, entitled, and exasperating, but she was not “nasty” enough for her world. I missed that the first time I met her.
SYNOPSIS:
Lily Bart is a well-born but impoverished young woman, trying desperately to maintain her footing in the New York elite society, where money talks louder than just about anything. She relies on her rich friends for everything, and, at 29, has let a few too many "decent" proposals pass her by - and now she is doing everything she can to find a husband who can give her what she wants: wealth, status, a permanent place in the society she has grown up with. Unfortunately her high standards and hesitance about marrying without love tip her into a downward spiral that ultimately ends in tragedy.
"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
Wharton took the title of her book from the above verse, and it says a lot about her perspective of New York high society. Lily Bart is a "cog in the great machine called life," useless once her part in it is played out. I feel that there is so much to learn in these pages; the story of Lily's fall is engrossing, infuriating, tantalizing. We understand her because we *are* her. How do our choices affect the course of our lives? What matters most? These are the questions we all must ask.
I remember really hating Lily the first time I read this book - hating her for the choices she made, for how she blindly hurt the ones who cared for her - but this time I just pitied her. Though she made foolish choices, in the moment they made sense to her. Selfish, yes. Evil, no. Ultimately, this book is beautifully and masterfully written, revealing the cracks in human nature when afflicted with shame.
If you spent the entire time reading this book just WISHING Lily wouldn't be so daft and would make better decisions for her life, read Wharton's Glimpses of the Moon. She wrote it as a sort of experiment - what if two people in the same social situations as Lily and Selden were to actually make the choice to love each other in spite of it all? A great read to follow HoM.
Lily Bart is a well-born but impoverished young woman, trying desperately to maintain her footing in the New York elite society, where money talks louder than just about anything. She relies on her rich friends for everything, and, at 29, has let a few too many "decent" proposals pass her by - and now she is doing everything she can to find a husband who can give her what she wants: wealth, status, a permanent place in the society she has grown up with. Unfortunately her high standards and hesitance about marrying without love tip her into a downward spiral that ultimately ends in tragedy.
"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
Wharton took the title of her book from the above verse, and it says a lot about her perspective of New York high society. Lily Bart is a "cog in the great machine called life," useless once her part in it is played out. I feel that there is so much to learn in these pages; the story of Lily's fall is engrossing, infuriating, tantalizing. We understand her because we *are* her. How do our choices affect the course of our lives? What matters most? These are the questions we all must ask.
I remember really hating Lily the first time I read this book - hating her for the choices she made, for how she blindly hurt the ones who cared for her - but this time I just pitied her. Though she made foolish choices, in the moment they made sense to her. Selfish, yes. Evil, no. Ultimately, this book is beautifully and masterfully written, revealing the cracks in human nature when afflicted with shame.
If you spent the entire time reading this book just WISHING Lily wouldn't be so daft and would make better decisions for her life, read Wharton's Glimpses of the Moon. She wrote it as a sort of experiment - what if two people in the same social situations as Lily and Selden were to actually make the choice to love each other in spite of it all? A great read to follow HoM.
Tragic, and reminds you that not everything works out in the end.
Favorite quotes:
"She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her"
"As the pain that can be told is but half a pain, so the pity that questions has little healing in its touch. What Lily craved was the darkness made by enfolding arms, the silence which is not solitude, but compassion holding its breath"
"Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn't any"
Favorite quotes:
"She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her"
"As the pain that can be told is but half a pain, so the pity that questions has little healing in its touch. What Lily craved was the darkness made by enfolding arms, the silence which is not solitude, but compassion holding its breath"
"Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn't any"
Ez egy nagyon kegyetlen rajz a 19. század végének New Yorki társadalmáról. De legalábbis a felsőbb osztályról. Vannak a pénzes emberek, a társasági elit, akik közé nehéz az újaknak bekerülni, mert kemény kasztosodás van. Aztán mikor nagy nehezen befogadnak valakit, arra rákényszerítik a játékszabályaikat és ha az új tagok nem akarják elveszíteni a nehezen megszerzett pozíciójukat, kénytelen a szerint játszani. Így fordulnak el sorra az emberek a főhőstől is, olyanok, akiknek még segített is bejutni a belső körbe… Lili Bart valahogy nem az igazán szimpatikus hősnő, s persze már az elején lehet sejteni, hogy semmi jó nem fog kisülni az életéből. De egy idő után kezdtem szánni, ugyanakkor elismerni, hogy valahol van neki tartása, s egyenes volt mert ő aztán neveltetése és pozíciója, vágyai ellenére se igazán tudta játszani a nagyok játszmáját. Ezért marad végül egyedül, mert még védekezni sincs ereje. Ugyanakkor akkoriban már volt más lehetősége is a nőknek, mint valahogy ellavírozni a gazdagok uszályán, csak éppen Lilynek nincs képzelőereje és nem eléggé határozott ahhoz, hogy saját álmai és vágyai legyenek, amelyeket nem fél megvalósítani. Hiszen még a szerelmet is elszalassza, mert abban a tévedésben él, hogy számára csak X összegen felül lehet boldogság. Pedig az ő sorsa mellett vannak azért pozitív példák és más lehetőségek is, csak persze ahhoz, hogy Gerty Farish legyen valakiből, kell bizonyos vérmérséklet.
A Vigasság háza nem könnyen olvastatja magát, rengeteg rétege van. Néhol roppant alapos, van amikor meg bakugrásokkal közlekedik. Edith Wharton kétségtelenül jól ismerte azt a világot amiről olyan kegyetlenül ír, s nem csoda, ha sokan megsértődtek rajta, mert túl naturalisztikus és leleplezi az ott folyó játszmákat, hogy igazából nem az emberek, s főleg nem az érzelmek számítanak, hanem csakis, hogy kinek mekkora a pénze, az arca és a hangja. Először azt gondoltam, nem fog tetszeni a könyv, sőt olvasás közben is sokszor erre gondoltam, de miután befejeztem és egyre több minden jutott eszembe róla, annál inkább látom meg benne a jó, értékes és érdekes dolgokat.
Eészletesebben: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2011/07/13/edith_wharton_a_vigassag_haza/
A Vigasság háza nem könnyen olvastatja magát, rengeteg rétege van. Néhol roppant alapos, van amikor meg bakugrásokkal közlekedik. Edith Wharton kétségtelenül jól ismerte azt a világot amiről olyan kegyetlenül ír, s nem csoda, ha sokan megsértődtek rajta, mert túl naturalisztikus és leleplezi az ott folyó játszmákat, hogy igazából nem az emberek, s főleg nem az érzelmek számítanak, hanem csakis, hogy kinek mekkora a pénze, az arca és a hangja. Először azt gondoltam, nem fog tetszeni a könyv, sőt olvasás közben is sokszor erre gondoltam, de miután befejeztem és egyre több minden jutott eszembe róla, annál inkább látom meg benne a jó, értékes és érdekes dolgokat.
Eészletesebben: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2011/07/13/edith_wharton_a_vigassag_haza/
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
A story about Lily Bart, a victim of upper class circumstance in Victorian America. Due to being dependent on her Aunt, she must marry well, yet finds this pursuit hideous. She is tricked by others and left out of her aunt's will and cannot really pursue a relationship with the one man she finds interesting (Selden). Eventually, an overdose of her sleeping aid takes her life, begging the question of suicide or accident.
A wonderfully-written book that takes a very (tragic) different approach to the old Austen theme. Lily is a true rebel, but pays the price for her independence. The added scene where Selden doesn't get to profess his love and mistakes the clues left in her room so much that you pity Lily; even in death she couldn't get it right!
A wonderfully-written book that takes a very (tragic) different approach to the old Austen theme. Lily is a true rebel, but pays the price for her independence. The added scene where Selden doesn't get to profess his love and mistakes the clues left in her room so much that you pity Lily; even in death she couldn't get it right!