Response to Setting in Edith Wharton\'s the House of Mirth

¶ … House of Mirth is set in New York high society in the 1920s, where the affluent have little more to do than to criticize and gossip about one another. Their conversations with each other are filled with snappy comments and sugarcoated insults. Despite their wealth, their setting, an environment filled with insecurities and constant arguments, taints the characters.

The main character, Lily Bart breaks through the setting with her independent spirit, ability to speak her own mind and dismissal of the thought of simply marrying for security. Her personality is not well accepted by society and she is a target for their scorn and derision. In short, her refusal to conform to her environment makes her the enemy of society.

The setting is a society where appearances mean everything. Therefore, once Lily loses her status as an attractive asset in society, her world collapses. The social setting of the novel is the leisure class, more specifically the leisure class women, and none of the women of this class earns her living by productive work. Instead they live their lives as proud displayers of their husband's wealth and work toward building and sustaining the men's reputation as superior members of society.

In the beginning of the novel, an admirer stares at Lily and it is obvious that her beauty is all that matters to him, as seen in this excerpt from the novel:

He had a confused sense that she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious way, have been sacrificed to produce her. He was aware that the qualities distinguishing her from the herd of her sex were chiefly external: as though a fine glaze of beauty and fastidiousness had been applied to vulgar clay. Yet the analogy left him unsatisfied, for a coarse texture will not take a high finish; and was it not possible that the material was fine, but that circumstance had fashioned it into a futile shape?"

This passage shows the importance of Lily's beauty and how men cannot see past it. It sets the stage for a society that is all about looks. Throughout the novel, consumption and leisure are everywhere. The characters, mostly leisure class women consume large quantities of high quality dresses from the best dressmakers, "having just the right dress for every occasion," and they are adorned with the finest jewelry and accessories in order to display their wealth most effectively.

They spend tons of money on expensive feasts, weekend entertainments and luxurious presents. They view love and marriage as a means to climb the social ladder, and base their decisions on what is socially acceptable.

In the end, Lily, who is unable to conform, is ruined and kills herself. The setting of the novel is actually what kills her. If the story had occurred decades later, society might have recognized her as the hero she was. Instead, her surroundings made her behavior inexcusable to others.

As the plot unfolded, Lily was fooled into losing thousands of dollars in gambling debts. The only reason she played cards was not to make herself available as an attractive wife to someone, but to pay off her debts. Gus Trenor, a married man, wanted her to be his mistress, which she refused to be.

When an offer of marriage without love came from rich Sim Rosedale, Lily again refused. Lily was then used by adulterous Bertha Dorset to regain the attention of her husband George. Lily was placed in a position where she was accused of extramarital sex with George because the rules of high society would permit no other inference.