The House of Mirth Book 2, Chapters 5 and 6

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/house-of-mirth/character-map.html

Lily Bart, Lawrence Selden, Sim Rosedale, Gus and Judy Trenor, George and Bertha Dorset, Carry Fisher, Mrs. Peniston, and Gerty Farish--the major characters in the novel.  Although the characters of a novel are not as vital as the overall themes, they do convey the author's purpose, so they are definitely worth studying in detail.  Lily Bart is the protagonist, the main character, the heroine.  I said in my first post, that she would probably be a dynamic character, but this is not true; she never really changed her morals and principles and still desires wealth and a prominent position in society.  Selden, our hero, is often the object of our pity because Miss Bart never acknowledges her love for him and continually rejects him.  I would say that Bertha Dorset is the antagonist in the novel, but she really symbolizes society as a whole which expects certain things from its members, Lily in the story.  The stock character, or stereotype, in the novel is the expectation society places on its most prominent members--wealth and status.  Most of these characters are considered static because we are not privy to their multiple dimensions and growth throughout the novel.  Lily Bart, and perhaps Rosedale, are, I think, the only round characters in The House of Mirth.  She displays multiple aspects of her personality throughout the novel: she desperately seeks the approval and praise of her fellow citizens, cannot deal well with impending debts, loves Selden but continually rejects him because of his financial situation, also rejects poverty, reads others well, and is, in my opinion, a little conceited and bratty.  Sim Rosedale changes throughout the novel and matures his status in society.  He also wanted to marry Lily but changed his mind once her personal life became well known and gossip swarmed around her.  Although the characters seem important, the central themes in the novel, the desire for wealth and status and forfeiting love for other desires in life, promote the real purpose Wharton's novel.