The House of Mirth Book 1, Chapters 6 and 7

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Although Gus Trenor was only in the last bit of this section, I want to focus on him because I think he will play a major role, even as a minor character.  When Lily finally asked him, a little indirectly, for a loan, she really swallowed her pride in the hopes of retaining her luxurious lifestyle. Lily also used her feminine charms, along with a "sob story," to persuade him to lend her some money.  Although this was sort of inappropriate to beg for a loan from a friend, Lily thinks that living the life society desires for her is more important than anything else, especially love.  Gus Trenor plays an important role because he offers Lily payments to help her with her debts and other problems she faces.  It is presumed that he would not tell his wife or anyone else about the transaction, which I'm sure would not please Mrs. Trenor.  I think that we will see Gus take more of an important role later in the novel because Lily's wealth is the most important aspect of her life.  As a major theme in the novel, the search for wealth and social achievements will definitely affect the outcome of her attempts with relationships, and I think Gus' role may change dramatically.
      Also in chapter 6 of The House of Mirth was Lily's outing with Lawrence Selden that Edith Wharton surprised us with, and they nearly declared that they were both interested in getting married.  Selden claimed that "If I had, it should be yours, you know," (Wharton, page 57) when Lily accused him of having nothing to offer her.  She is obviously torn between the lifestyle that she's accustomed to and possibly being with the love of her life.

The House of Mirth Book 2, Chapters 4 and 5

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

So, I really like The House of Mirth and I think that Edith Wharton is a great writer, especially as a female at the turn of the century.  My annotations of the book include little smiley faces for the parts of the plot I enjoy, "haha"s for the funny parts, various notes, and little check marks for the passages I think are really well written or organized--there's almost always at least one on every page.  Some of my favorite passages from these two chapters are "The fragrance of the late blossoms seemed an emanation of the tranquil scene, a landscape tutored to the last degree of rural elegance (Wharton, page 38), "Society is a revolving body which is apt to be judged according to its place in each man's heaven; and at present it was turning its illuminated face to Lily" (Wharton, page 39), and "Ned Silverton was probably smoking the cigarette of young despair in his bedroom" (Wharton, page 46).  I just like the way she writes and the words she chose for certain scenes in the novel.  The plot of the story is also very good and entertaining, especially the scenes with Lawrence Selden and Lily.  However, there is one aspect of the novel and Wharton's writing that I do not like: the absence of a preface to some scenes.  The reader does not often expect what is coming next, and I think that most people want to be able to guess a little of what is going to happen so that they are more intrigued with the novel.  One specific instance of this is where Lily goes out to walk to church and Selden just appears.  After he arrives, Lily acts as if she was expecting him, but Wharton had given no indication that we should expect him in that scene.  I guess it's a part of the author's style, but I would prefer if we got a little bit of what's coming next in the plot.  Regardless, I think it's a great novel and am excited to read on.

The House of Mirth Book 1, Chapter 3

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

So, reading the first couple chapters of the novel, I suppose I misinterpreted Lily's intentions toward Mr. Gryce.  She does want to marry him and is "afraid of losing her newly-acquired hold" over him (Wharton, page 19).  However, she seems pretty confident in her ability to cope with his extreme boringness and quickly win him over with her "fresh compliances and adaptability" (Wharton, page 19).  Although she does not really think about Mr. Selden much in this chapter, I still think that Lily likes him and wishes they could somehow be together.
      An important aspect of Lily's desires and decisions is society and its corresponding expectations of a woman in her position.  In the early 1900's, young, prominent women of society were expected to marry men of good financial standings so that they could maintain their lives of luxury.  Although Lily's family never really had much money when she was growing up, her mother always managed the money in a way that would allow them to appear wealthier than they really were and look fancy and appropriate for society.  Through brief anecdotes of Lily's childhood, Edith Wharton explains Lily's background and why she is accustomed to the life she has.  This passage also explains why she is so intent on marrying someone wealthy...Percy Gryce.
      The setting of The House of Mirth is one of the most important factors that, I think, will affect the outcome of the novel.  Society had created the model image of a woman and her family, and Lily felt that she could never deviate from that illustration--and marry Mr. Selden.  Society is the reason that Lily feels she must abandon love and find a wealthier husband who will support her and let her live with the extravagance she was accustomed to.

The House of Mirth Book 1, Chapters 1 and 2

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

The House of Mirth.  As with most books assigned for school, I was a little apprehensive when I started reading this one, but I immediately enjoyed the novel, especially Lily Bart.  It is evident from nearly the first page that she is the main character in the novel; therefore she will probably be a dynamic character who will evolve in some way throughout the story.  As a round character, Lily possesses various characteristics: she is witty, intelligent, sociable, confident, head-strong, forward, and also seems a little haughty towards certain people whom she disapproves of.  She seems very daring and outgoing, but also a little flirty and ahead of the times socially.   In the first two chapters, Lily displays some of her more dominant traits, her disapproval of the expected compliance with society and her awareness of other' thoughts and feelings.  Also evident from the first couple chapters are her relationships with certain men in society, most prominently with Mr. Selden.  It seems that they are pretty close and have known each other for a long time.  I think that he definitely has feelings for her, but she can never reciprocate them because he is not rich enough for her and she is "horribly poor-- and very expensive" (Wharton pg. 6).  With Selden, Lily is looking for a friend who will not judge her and will be honest, but he, I feel, is looking for more than that.
       On an unrelated note, I really enjoy Wharton's writing.  She wrote many paragraphs and descriptions very well and at certain points, I have stopped and reread passages just because they were so well written and I liked them so much.