Shirley hosted April's meeting to discuss The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton. Dianne, Carole, Betty, Janet, Kristie and Kathleen were all present to enthusiastically discuss this classic. Set just after the turn of the twentieth century, the novel examines the changing values of New York's elite and the disastrous effect of those values on the heroine of the story, Lily Bart.
Betty remarked the book was an incredible commentary on the society of the time. Shirley agreed, adding she had clear memories of overhearing her mother and other adults having conversations such as "Well, who is she?" "She was a Bradley." Shirley told us that the title of the book is derived from the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." She asked us if we thought Lily had the heart of a fool, or if she was trapped by expectations. We all thought Lily was trapped, although we had differing views on how she came to be that way. Carole felt Lily was trapped because she was not strong enough, Janet because she unthinkingly followed her expected role, and Dianne because she was unwilling to give up the life she was accustomed to.
Shirley also asked us if we thought Lily was naive, expedient, or self-absorbed. We thought she was actually a combination of all three, which is one factor leading to her doom. Kathleen pointed out that Lily also exhibits a strong sense of self-entitlement, resulting from her mother's injunctions to use her beauty as a tool to avoid the dinginess she (the mother) abhors. Kristie thought Lily's pursuit of financial stability was common for the time, and is still something seen today--although now it is called gold-digging. Shirley commented that although Lily's contemporaries disdained the nouveau riche, "business" ethics had crept into the society of the time and were beginning to inform many interactions, i.e. social reciprocity in exchange for "tips". Unlike her friends, however, who can close their eyes to the ugliness of this sort of exchange, Lily always gets cold feet at the last minute and winds up complicating things for herself. As an example, Carole mentioned how Lily chooses not to use what she knows of Bertha Dorset to her advantage.
This brought us to a discussion about Lily's friends, and in particular Selden and Gertie. We all thought Selden was as interestingly complex and fatally flawed as Lily. If each had been stronger, they might have brought out the best in each other; as it was, however, they continually misunderstood and misinterpreted one another. Gertie is the one purely good, unselfish, endearing character in the book, and the only one who thinks highly of Lily. Is her faith misplaced? The discussion around this, in turn, brought us to whether Lily's death was accident or suicide. One of the strengths of Wharton's writing is that this remains somewhat murky. We all agreed, however, that the story wouldn't have been as satisfying with another ending.
Next month's meeting will be hosted by Betty, and we'll discuss Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
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