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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
tense
Seriously, people suck. I read this book and on the last page, I thought, yes, it would have to be Seldon. Much has not changed in the 100 years since this had been written. Society is still a hard thing. The House of Mirth, took the life of Lily Bart and made a judgement of NYC society. It is still true 100 years later.
ffs
for some reason I was sure Edith Wharton wrote one of those books where the mc ends up with the love interest and everyone lives happily ever after (even if the idea of the actual ending crossed my mind when i had only 100 pages left)
it wasnt!
I believe there are two types of characters for each reader:
- characters that you read about bcs their story is entertaining and pleasant
- characters in which you find yourself or with whom you have a deep connection.
For me, Lily Bart is the second type. Her life, her tragic life, seems familiar, intimate, and im afraid to talk more about it. Charismatic. Intelligent. She knew what she wanted, but society slowly killed her. She could not be saved by her beauty, neither by men nor by love.
for some reason I was sure Edith Wharton wrote one of those books where the mc ends up with the love interest and everyone lives happily ever after (even if the idea of the actual ending crossed my mind when i had only 100 pages left)
it wasnt!
I believe there are two types of characters for each reader:
- characters that you read about bcs their story is entertaining and pleasant
- characters in which you find yourself or with whom you have a deep connection.
For me, Lily Bart is the second type. Her life, her tragic life, seems familiar, intimate, and im afraid to talk more about it. Charismatic. Intelligent. She knew what she wanted, but society slowly killed her. She could not be saved by her beauty, neither by men nor by love.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a blur of colors, movement, and high society.
It reads very much like a dream.
Lily is obsessed with being clean, and beautiful, and very very rich. Unfortunately, so are her "friends."
None of the characters are particularly lovable. They are caricatures of one specific personality trait, such as purity or lust. That is what makes them likable though - they speak some truth of what makes a person human.
I did not feel for Lily Bart until the very end, when Lawrence Selden walks into her room.
Society is fickle.
It reads very much like a dream.
Lily is obsessed with being clean, and beautiful, and very very rich. Unfortunately, so are her "friends."
None of the characters are particularly lovable. They are caricatures of one specific personality trait, such as purity or lust. That is what makes them likable though - they speak some truth of what makes a person human.
I did not feel for Lily Bart until the very end, when Lawrence Selden walks into her room.
Society is fickle.
I had almost come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of the Novel of Manners, and this book cemented that feeling. I am wholly intolerant of the implied value and worth social elites place on lower society and even their peers. Everything is a game and the ultimate amusement is the downfall of their enemies. Newcomers are often treated with suspicion and falls from grace give some an evil satisfaction that is difficult to understand and even harder to stomach. House of Mirth chronicles the fall of the graceful Lily Bart from her place in high society and leaves me with a sense of foreboding for the other Novels of Manners that I have resigned to read.
Despite my feelings on the genre, there were clear moments where I enjoyed the book but those feelings were in proportion to my own world view of the right kind of happiness. Lily's search for happiness (in the despicable form of financial security) is only truly found happy when she was honest with herself but her upbringing in wealth and excess always prevented her from embracing that happiness for too long. Lily's mother was scornfully against anything "dingy" and gave Lily the key, or rather the lock, to her dungeon of dissatisfaction.
Lily ultimately never marries but that isn't for lack of any of marriage necessities. Lily was beautiful, charming, socially ingenious, and not without a number of healthy seductions from men. In fact, she was in love but she was in love with the wrong kind of man. Lawrence Seldon was simply not wealthy enough to secure her the place in high society she deemed minimally acceptable. But for Lily it never was as simple as checking that box. She had at least two wealthily-worthy suitors, an extremely eligible noble and a creepy old man, but she effectually rejects them both. She remains torn between love and the good life and the frustration that the gods of chance did not bless her with both. Her indecision, lack of action, and her decent sense of morality defined her adult life.
Lily was certainly a character I think I would have liked personally and was quite pleased to how she lived such a principled life. Perhaps I'm wrong, but her behavior seems contrary to what many other characters would do in her situation. She sacrificed her engagement to a prince to flirt with Seldon; she denied financial support from a married man; she refused an easy life with an extremely wealthy man; and she resigned to pay back a financial obligation that only existed because she insisted on it being so. Lily was a mysteriously convicted person for also being so indecisive. She recognized her decision had serious adverse consequences but to her there was no choice and that is something to be appreciated, if not admired.
As a final note, I'd like to talk a bit about the title. Dictionary.com defines "mirth" as: gaiety or jollity, especially when accompanied by laughter. The entire time I was reading The House of Mirth I was contemplating the meaning of the title. The only time there is laughing is when Lily Bart is attempting to maneuver or manipulate a conversation. Wikipedia claims the title is inspired by the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Even still, I'm a bit lost as to the titular meaning. Perhaps Lily acted foolishly at times - and this is quite debatable - but she certainly was not encased in laughter. The citation is akin to the adage "ignorance is bliss" which is equally unsuitable for Ms. Bart. When I looked at the text in the Bible, the preceding passage makes a bit more sense. Sorrow is better than laughter, because when the face is sad the heart grows wiser. This much more precisely defines Lily's story. She learns that while enjoyment has limited value, her experience with the perpetually struggling Nettie Struther and her domestic life complete with child offers a real sense of wholeness.
I gave this book 3-stars primarily for my feelings on the genre. In truth, I kinda want to get it 4 stars now that I've evaluated the title a bit more but I'm going to stick with my original feeling 3. It's just not a genre I relate to very well but I do appreciate its value and even more can imagine its value in the time it was written (1905).
Despite my feelings on the genre, there were clear moments where I enjoyed the book but those feelings were in proportion to my own world view of the right kind of happiness. Lily's search for happiness (in the despicable form of financial security) is only truly found happy when she was honest with herself but her upbringing in wealth and excess always prevented her from embracing that happiness for too long. Lily's mother was scornfully against anything "dingy" and gave Lily the key, or rather the lock, to her dungeon of dissatisfaction.
Lily ultimately never marries but that isn't for lack of any of marriage necessities. Lily was beautiful, charming, socially ingenious, and not without a number of healthy seductions from men. In fact, she was in love but she was in love with the wrong kind of man. Lawrence Seldon was simply not wealthy enough to secure her the place in high society she deemed minimally acceptable. But for Lily it never was as simple as checking that box. She had at least two wealthily-worthy suitors, an extremely eligible noble and a creepy old man, but she effectually rejects them both. She remains torn between love and the good life and the frustration that the gods of chance did not bless her with both. Her indecision, lack of action, and her decent sense of morality defined her adult life.
Lily was certainly a character I think I would have liked personally and was quite pleased to how she lived such a principled life. Perhaps I'm wrong, but her behavior seems contrary to what many other characters would do in her situation. She sacrificed her engagement to a prince to flirt with Seldon; she denied financial support from a married man; she refused an easy life with an extremely wealthy man; and she resigned to pay back a financial obligation that only existed because she insisted on it being so. Lily was a mysteriously convicted person for also being so indecisive. She recognized her decision had serious adverse consequences but to her there was no choice and that is something to be appreciated, if not admired.
As a final note, I'd like to talk a bit about the title. Dictionary.com defines "mirth" as: gaiety or jollity, especially when accompanied by laughter. The entire time I was reading The House of Mirth I was contemplating the meaning of the title. The only time there is laughing is when Lily Bart is attempting to maneuver or manipulate a conversation. Wikipedia claims the title is inspired by the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Even still, I'm a bit lost as to the titular meaning. Perhaps Lily acted foolishly at times - and this is quite debatable - but she certainly was not encased in laughter. The citation is akin to the adage "ignorance is bliss" which is equally unsuitable for Ms. Bart. When I looked at the text in the Bible, the preceding passage makes a bit more sense. Sorrow is better than laughter, because when the face is sad the heart grows wiser. This much more precisely defines Lily's story. She learns that while enjoyment has limited value, her experience with the perpetually struggling Nettie Struther and her domestic life complete with child offers a real sense of wholeness.
I gave this book 3-stars primarily for my feelings on the genre. In truth, I kinda want to get it 4 stars now that I've evaluated the title a bit more but I'm going to stick with my original feeling 3. It's just not a genre I relate to very well but I do appreciate its value and even more can imagine its value in the time it was written (1905).