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Summary: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review: Often considered her masterpiece, this is the tragic story of Lily Bart, born into New York society and the victim of its rigid code The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, Edith Wharton was an immensely popular writer in her day. She depicts the life of the American upper class--a class into which she was born--with irony and satire, exposing its lack of compassion and its stifling of human happinness.
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Summary: A saga of the Victorian age to rival Shakespeare
Review: Lily has everything a woman would want--beauty, clothes, taste, and suitors. She has everything but money. And that makes all the difference. And the inevitable is happening. She is getting older every day. I became her in a way. I could relate to each of her reverses, could understand most of her reasonings. I was entrenched in her character and pushing her to please marry Selden--they so obviously loved each other! And yet Selden was weak. He could have reached out and did not. She spiralled downward and her friends watched disinterestedly--or perhaps just enough to provide some gossip about Lily. The final scene will tear your heart. It is the finest book I have read in a long time, no matter that it is nearly a century old. It speaks to the woman's heart today as it did then. It is a book I must have in my library forever.
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Summary: What a fantastic book!
Review: I was so thrilled with this book! My only other exposure to Ms. Wharton's work was reading Ethan Frome in junior high school and seeing the film of The Age of Innocence. This is easily the best book I've read this year, and I plan to read her others. I was so heartbroken by the end--I had forgotten how powerful a great novel can be.
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Summary: The conclusion to this book is very moving and romantic
Review: The tale of unrequited love and the realism and insightfulness of the characters intensifies this novel. The ending leaves you sad and empathetic yet wistful. It is perhaps the best Edith Wharton novel and will live in my memory forever..
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Summary: Pursuing "The Republic of the Spirit"
Review: In the novel that burst her into superstardom, Edith Wharton examines the plight of Lily Bart, a beautiful but penniless woman who hopes to marry into wealthy New York society. Wharton's timeless themes of "a generous person trapped by circumstances into consanguinity with a meaner nature and the nature and limits of individual responsibility - determining what allowance of freedom or rebellion can be made for her trapped protagonist without at the same threatening the structure of society" (Edith Wharton by Blake Nevius, page 10) remain relevant in today's modern world. Lily Bart's tragic quest for "The Republic of the Spirit", Wharton's vision of personal freedom, will tug at the hearts and souls of today's readers; many of whom still confront this quest daily.
Personally, I found the novel to be very tragic but very skillful in the way Wharton attacks the materialistic, crass old NY society of which she comes from. Lily Bart is a very flawed woman and thus cannot be considered a "heroine" in the true sense because of her many weaknesses. However, her beauty, sweetness, and sense of honor makes her a memorable and sympathetic character.
I was first introduced to Edith Wharton in 11th grade - I read her novella, Ethan Frome, which was outstanding in its stark but realistic portrayal of the doomed love affair of Ethan and Mattie. Now, as I read The House of Mirth, in graduate school for the first time, I continue to admire Ms. Wharton's incisive social commentary that contains surprising relevance in today's society. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to the works of Edith Wharton. Unfairly labeled as the "female Henry James", she is, in reality, her own woman and great writer. The House of Mirth is a true literary classic.
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Summary: excellent example of turn of the century American realism
Review: The tale of Lily Bart's struggle in a society that is absolutely unforgiving to those without money establishes Wharton as one of the greatest modern authors. Although the story is somewhat dated and has minor anti semetic undertones, it is thoroughly enjoyable classic reading for a lazy afternoon
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Summary: What catty, evil characters this book has...
Review: What I *love* about this book are the characters. The characters in this book are so spiteful and malicious that you can't help but find yourself drawn into the tragic story of Lily Bart. After a series of unfortunate events, each more disastrous than the last, Lily finds that she has fallen from the highest rung of society to the very lowest of the working class. This book is about the viciousness of so-called "friends" and the self-destruction that befalls a woman in the early 1900s who wishes to remain single and free but is pressured to marry before she's too old. As social commentary, this book is excellent, and it's fairly entertaining. A good read.
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Summary: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
Review: I got about half way through this book and couldn't remember why I had loved it so much when I first read it ten years ago. Edith's superior observation, style and sharp storytelling kept me going and by the end I understood why I'd loved it so much the first time. Lily is certainly one of the most enigmatic characters you'll ever deal with. She's exasperating, stupid, intelligent, and lovely. Did Edith Wharton realize what a modern story she had written? Lily Bart could be any contemporary beautiful young woman striving to reach the top of her game using whatever tools she can muster. To me, Lily's ultimate sadness is that all her vivaciousness, all that she could be, was swallowed up by a gaping lack of spirit, passed on to her by her mother and her admonition not to "be dingey". That does a lot for your self esteem.
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Summary: A True Classic
Review: I read The House of Mirth for the first time in high school and it quickly became one of my favorite books. I have reread it often. It is a sad story, a story that can (and probably did) happen anytime, anywhere. Lily Bart deserved better. As for Selden, I have always believed that he was too hard on her. Selden was no better than the people who turned their backs on Lily.
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Summary: The House of Mirth: Reviewing a classic
Review: Edith Wharton's, The House of Mirth provides an intelligent portrayal of the "Gilded Age", reflected in the extravagant lifestyle of those daily participating in what was New York society. Readers are introduced to Lily Bart, a witty, smart and manipulative member of the higher class. After enduring serial tragedies in her life she finds herself in a financial predicament,unaccepted in her society. With the use of her beauty and charm, she adroitly finds her way back into the better side of economic wellness, seeping through the elegant façade of her surroundings. Her arrangements soon return to harm her instead of benefiting her.
This novel is an extremely smart and eye-opening look into the daily aspects of women and men's roles during the turn of the century (1905). Marriage played an essential part of women's lives, while society condoned men never marrying. For women, marriage was a way of escaping financial ruin or social shame-men being their saviors. Lily Bart the lead character in this novel transcends society's views on female roles and leads a self-governing life while maintaining social accord. False relationships and soon failing economic arrangements drive Miss Bart into never-ending poverty. She finds herself struggling to support the extravagant demands that her lifestyle requires; yet that she so vehemently refuses to depart. Miss Lily Bart's strong love for "the finer things in life" eventually clouds her increasingly harsh days and rapidly deteriorates into oblivion.
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