Customer Reviews
"A handsome girl who flirted with a married man was merely assumed to be pressing...her opportunities." - By: Mary Whipple, 05 May 2006 
Published in 1905, The House of Mirth offers a blistering social commentary on the lifestyles & behavior of super-rich society. Having grown up in this society, Wharton evaluates it here as an insider, & her trenchant observations give this early novel a liveliness & verisimilitude not characteristic of "aristocratic" novels written by outsiders. Set at a time in which the old, moneyed aristocracy was being forced to admit newcomers who had made their recent fortunes through industry, the novel shows moneyed society in flux, the old guard ensuring their exclusivity against parvenus who are not the "right type," at the same time that their sons & daughters were often securing large fortunes through marriage into some of these new families.
Lily Bart, a beautiful young woman of good family whose father lost everything when she was only nineteen, is left dependent on wealthy relatives in this society until she can charm a financiallly secure suitor into marriage. At age twenty-nine, she is no longer a debutante, & the pressure is mounting for her to marry, though she lacks the unlimited financial resources of social rivals. Still, her wit & charm make her a delightful companion, & she is never at a loss for suitors. Intelligent enough to want a real marriage & not just a merger between families, she has resisted making a commitment to date, though the clock is ticking.
As Lily tries to negotiate a good marriage & future for herself, she is aware that the competition is fierce. Women "friends" pounce on the latest gossip & spread rumors to discredit rivals, & Lily's reputation is tainted with hints of impropriety. Her opportunities for a good marriage begin to dwindle, & when her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, dies & leaves her a bequest that covers only her debts, Lily is no longer able to compete in the society so attractive to her & begins her downward spiral.
Wharton creates a complete picture of turn-of-the-century New York society & its "important" people--their lack of morality, their opportunism, their manipulations, & their smug self-importance, characteristics one may also see in Lily when she is part of this society. But Wharton also shows how quickly a woman may become an outcast when the money runs out & she is thrown on her own resources without any training for any other kind of life. A well-developed melodrama filled with revealing details, this novel established Wharton's reputation as a novelist/commentator on the manners & morals of high society & those who would participate in it.
