Summary:
This analysis of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth examines the issue of innocence as it pertains to the female protagonist. Lily's metamorphosis from innocent product of her society to self-aware individual, and her discovery of the truth, are explored in detail.
Shattering the Glass House
"where ignorance is bliss, / 'Tis folly to be wise." - Thomas Gray
The title of Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth waxes poetic irony in the case of the old money society of turn-of-the-century New York. The individual as part of the collective of society which seeks to oppress individuality is representative of the "house" in the novel's title. To remain ignorant and play by the "rules," therein lies the "mirth." Clearly, the victimization of the story's heroine, Lily Bart, by the elite social "set" she associates herself with illustrates Wharton's disdain for the rigidity of this society against the individual. Lily is, at first, an example of the collective society she is a product of; however, as she finds herself being victimized for embracing individuality, a metamorphosis of her character takes.....
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