The House of Mirth and the Gilded Age

Novelist Edith Wharton wrote her defining work, 1905s the House of Mirth, on a subject she knew whole too well: the style-over-substance realm of New Yorks upper-crust society during the loud Age. Having been raised in this fashionable society, Wharton knew some(prenominal) its intricacies and cruelties firsthand. The triumphant pass over and tragic fall of protagonist Lily Bart demonstrate both the sunshine and shadow of the tatty Age. The House of Mirth not only exposes the reality of how the other half live, but also satirizes and condemns their elitist existence. Historians refer to the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s as Americas Gilded Age. This was fundamentally a time when stock market trading and industrial expansion widened the chasm between Americas haves and have nots. This economic disparity is the basis for Whartons novel. She garment her cautionary tale in New York because, as a sensible setting, it encapsulated the Gilded Ages wealth distribution gap. The filthy, vermin-infested tenement houses of factory workers were situate just blocks from the palatial, million-dollar mansions of railroad tycoons and oil magnates. Lily Bart exists in a torturous state of limbo between socio-economic classes. She is the meager niece of the smashed Mrs.

Peniston, and as such, is on the outside looking in on polite society. However, Lilys impoverished childhood has left her with a detestation for all things dingy and an insatiable desire for the luxurious Lucas 2 and elegant. Because the Gilded Age was still a time when women held little strike in social politics, Lilys only way of securing her presence in elite society is to find a wealthy petitioner and marry him. Her obsession with money and social standing nix her from marrying the only man she truly loves, Lawrence Selden, because his modest means could not possibly support her. This obsession also leads to excessive outlay and gambling, which ultimately factor in Lilys downfall.... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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