The House of Mirth (1905), by Edith Wharton, is a novel about New York socialite Lily Bart attempting to secure a husband and a place in rich society. It is one of the first novels of manners in American literature.
The title derives from Ecclesiastes 7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. The manuscript had been titled "A Moment's Ornament" and Wharton renamed it in revision to th...
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The House of Mirth (1905), by Edith Wharton, is a novel about New York socialite Lily Bart attempting to secure a husband and a place in rich society. It is one of the first novels of manners in American literature.
The title derives from Ecclesiastes 7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. The manuscript had been titled "A Moment's Ornament" and Wharton renamed it in revision to the current name.
Like most Wharton novels, The House of Mirth examines the conflict between rigid social expectation and personal desire. Lily Bart is intelligent and adept at playing society's games, which expect her to arrange an advantageous marriage for herself. Yet she sabotages all her potential marriages; she wants more for herself, but is too enamored of luxurious living to marry for love alone. Gradually she loses the good opinion of her wealthy social circle until she is left to try to survive below the level of "dinginess" of her...
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