Edith Wharton is known primarily as a social commentator revealing the secrets of New York society at the turn of the 20th Century. Literary criticism has focused on her depiction of this world of economic privilege into which she was born, commenting on the duality of her simultaneous acceptance and condemnation of her culture.
The power of money and social position, its place in the social structure, and its ability to create both exquisite glamour and alienation of the human spirit is Wharton's common theme. It is surely the predominant theme in The House of Mirth. However, Wharton described in her autobiography how the story kept presenting many subordinate themes. A closer look at the novel reveals that the fate of Wharton's main character, Lily Bart, cannot be separated from her condition as " woman."
The Story
Wharton depicts Lily as a single woman drifting among the upper class of old New York. After her parents' deaths, Lily is left with only a small yearly income and lives with an elderly aunt. To maintain her status in society, Lily must make a good marriage. Being extremely beautiful, she is not without opportunities. But each time a match appers forthcoming, Lily seems to make disastrous choices which alienate her from the suitor. In truth, she is in love with Lawrence Seldon, a man of modest means who is attracted to Lily but afraid he cannot adequately provide for her. Lily seems to sabotage other opportunities to remain available to Lawrence's proposal - one which never materializes.
Lily's small income is decimated by her extravagant lifestyle and her reputation comes under fire, primarily through the deliberate manipulations of her closest acquaintances. Lily has the opportunity to avenge herself, with the added bonus of marriage, but only at the expense of her own values and her true love; these are sacrifices she refuses to make. The elderly aunt dies, virtually disinheriting the tainted Lily. She descends into poverty, becomes addicted to a sleeping medication, and, at the end of the novel, dies by overdose.
A Feminist Criticism
The House of Mirth is, at its most basic, the story of a vain, spoiled young woman conniving her way through a frivolous society, trying to catch a wealthy husband. Those who look deeper see a complex young woman, confused, restless, and alienated. Those who look deeper still are rewarded with the story of a woman uncomfortable in the role demanded of her by society; a woman conditioned to seek sources of fulfillment and success ourside herself, yet ultimately unable to sacrifice her personal morality for the prize she desparately needs.
Wharton never achieved the feminist reputation of Kate Chopin or Virginia Wolfe. This oversight may be due more to the time period in which she published (and the male sex of the literary critics of that time) than to the actual content of her work. Her writing clearly reveals hatred for any waste of the full potential of human life - male or female. Considering the details of Wharton's own life and the constraints placed on her as a female author working prior to women's suffrage, it is possible she would deliberately, yet delicately, expand on her theme of class stratification and present an early feminist heroine - a woman caught between the social conventions of her time and her own instinctive struggle for personal growth.
However, when Lily is ultimately punished for stepping outside the boundaries imposed by patriarchal society, it is clear Wharton believed there was simply no other possible end to the story. Lily appeals to outside sources for help and each potential benefactor turns away in capitulation to the ideology of the time. Her inner self clearly grows during the course of the novel, yet Lily never realizes this as her one true success. Wharton never allows Lily to look within for salvation and when she looks outside herself, patriarchal society makes sure there is no help to be found.
There is plenty of feminist rhetoric in The House of Mirth. What is missing is a comfortable sense of how to fight the restrictions imposed by patriarchy on an individual level. The duality of Wharton's criticism and affection for the world of privilege into which she was born merges with a duality of condemnation and ultimate acceptance of the sexual double standard to which she was subjected.
Conclusion and Modern Relevancy
As to the current value of the feminist rhetoric in The House of Mirth, certainly most restrictions illustrated by Lily Bart's life are no longer valid today. Much has been accomplished, yet stubborn remnants of patriarchy remain, if not in the legal system, surely in cultural ideals. Lily's story shows that women must look within for strength, fulfillment, and validation. The conditioning to search for solutions externally, that is through family, employers, or government, is an insidious device of patriarchy. Truly accepting the power and ability within and the responsibility to shape one's own life is the key to defeating patriarchy at the individual level.
Sources:
Auchincloss, Louis. "Edith Wharton and Her New Yorks."Reflections of a Jacobite. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961.
Fracasso, Evelyn. Edith Wharton's Prisoners of Consciousness: A study of theme and Technique in the Tales. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994.
French, Marilyn. "Introduction." The House of Mirth. 1905; reprint, New York: Berkley Books, 1981.
Howe, Irving. "The Achievement of Edith Wharton." Edith Wharton - A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Irving Howe. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1962.
Wharton, Edith. A Backward Glance. New York: D. Appleton Century Company Incorporated, 1934.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. 1905, reprint, New York: Berkley Books, 1981.
Wilson. Edmund. "Justice to Edith Wharton." The Wound and the Bow. New York: Oxford University Press, 1947; reprinted Edith Wharton - A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Irving Howe. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1962.
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