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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
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.
I think this quote sums up the book's emotion to me:
Begin Quote
"The whole truth?" Miss Bart laughed. "What is the truth? Where a woman is concerned, it's the story that's easiest to believe. In this case it's a great deal easier to believe Bertha Dorset's story than mine, because she has a big house and an opera box, and it's convenient to be on good terms with her"
Begin Quote
"The whole truth?" Miss Bart laughed. "What is the truth? Where a woman is concerned, it's the story that's easiest to believe. In this case it's a great deal easier to believe Bertha Dorset's story than mine, because she has a big house and an opera box, and it's convenient to be on good terms with her"
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"My idea of success," he said, "is personal freedom.
"Freedom? Freedom from worries?"
"From everything..."
That rating may change by the end of this year, after I grow tired of analysing this for English Literature... But for now, it's a solid five-star.
I find it intriguing that Edith Wharton was able to be so critical of the upper-class society, which she was part of. This was reflected in Lily Bart — a beautiful and unmarried woman who is critical of the upper-class American society she is part of, while still striving to be part of it. This juxtaposition made her a very engaging character to read about; she follows social obligations, and then immediately wonders why she does so. For instance, she pursues a rich man while wondering why it is expected for her to do so.
Who wants a dingy woman? We are expected to be pretty and well-dressed until we drop — and if we can't keep it up alone, we have to go into partnership.
I also really admire how Lily was able to retain some sense of morality, all throughout the novel. In a world where blackmail and cheating is the norm, it's quite an accomplishment, especially considering how easy it would be for her to fall into the traps of the social elite. Lily thinks this is because of Selden's faith in her; he thinks it's because she has it in herself to remember her morals. I agree with Selden, though — Lily needs to give herself some more credit!
Selden, too, was fascinating to read about. Like Lily, he is very objective of the society he strives to be part of, and it is this connection that builds a meaningful relationship between the two. The only question is whether they can overcome class and social prejudices. The loveless marriage between George and Bertha Dorset represent exactly what they don't want; after all, Lily is still a bit of a hopeless romantic.
"Then why do we never see each other? Why can't we be friends? You promised once to help me," she continued in the same tone, as though the words were drawn from her unwillingly.
"The only way I can help you is by loving you," Selden said in a low voice.
The ending of this book broke my heart; I still can't read the last few chapters without feeling sorrowful. Lily Bart may be fictional, but she has taught me a lot about how difficult it is to stray from social obligations. If she'd been born in 2016, she probably would have fared perfectly fine — but in 19th century America, it's impossible for an upper-class woman to be free.
All in all, I very much enjoyed this book. I loved reading about the intricacies of upper-class society; the games they play, the unsaid rules, etc, and I would definitely recommend it.
But at least he had loved her — had been willing to stake his future on his faith in her — and if the moment had been fated to pass from them before they could seize it, he saw now that, for both, it had been saved whole out of the ruin of their lives.
I already wrote a 20 page essay on this in college, so I'll just say this is an amazing and important book, and really captured the essence of what is wrong with American economics at the time. Stunning and damning.
This book is a true classic. The world it describes - turn-of-the-20th century New York - might as well be Mars, yet the way people feel and behave still feels so realistic and sharply observed. I didn't like Ethan Frome or The Age of Innocence when I read them, years ago, but this book was excellent.
Lily Bart is beautiful and lives with her rich aunt. She is nearly thirty and has been trying to make an advantageous marriage, without being able to bring herself to do it, for the last ten years. We see her throw over Percy Gryce, who was about to propose, because he is wrong and because she prefers the company of Lawrence Selden. Selden loves her, but is not rich enough for her purposes. Lily is caught up in marital dispute between two friend and rumours begin to circulate about her. Her aunt dies and leaves her only a small legacy. She begins to lose her place in society and eventually is forced to try to earn a living as a milliner.
The whole book reads like a car crash and is relentless and oppressive. I found myself taking breaks out of a need to escape the unfolding disaster, although it is not without humour: Lily "had been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce ... but... must submit to more boredom...and all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honour of boring her for life." Wharton cleverly causes us to sympathize with Lily, but at the same time we judge her for her sense of entitlement, the way she puts status and wealth above love, even the way she cannot bring herself to make the compromise she determines to make and just marry some one. Her moral conscience is important, and I was cheering for some of her later decisions (although I would have borrowed from Rosedale to repay Trenor and set up a shop).
Gerty is a helpful character to show us a life style choice Lily could have made and Selden demonstrates a choice not to take society too seriously. None of Liliy's other "friends" are truly her friends at all, except for Carry Fisher and, in a sense, Simon Rosedale. Wharton's attitude to this Jewish character is of another era, but he has redeeming qualities and again offers Lily choices which she fails to take.
Very interesting, with lots to think about, but I'm glad it's over and I need to go and read something cheerful.
The whole book reads like a car crash and is relentless and oppressive. I found myself taking breaks out of a need to escape the unfolding disaster, although it is not without humour: Lily "had been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce ... but... must submit to more boredom...and all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honour of boring her for life." Wharton cleverly causes us to sympathize with Lily, but at the same time we judge her for her sense of entitlement, the way she puts status and wealth above love, even the way she cannot bring herself to make the compromise she determines to make and just marry some one. Her moral conscience is important, and I was cheering for some of her later decisions (although I would have borrowed from Rosedale to repay Trenor and set up a shop).
Gerty is a helpful character to show us a life style choice Lily could have made and Selden demonstrates a choice not to take society too seriously. None of Liliy's other "friends" are truly her friends at all, except for Carry Fisher and, in a sense, Simon Rosedale. Wharton's attitude to this Jewish character is of another era, but he has redeeming qualities and again offers Lily choices which she fails to take.
Very interesting, with lots to think about, but I'm glad it's over and I need to go and read something cheerful.