Chapters 1-2

One thing that strikes me most in regards to Wharton's The House of Mirth is the unbelievable societal differences between the time period of the novel and today's customs.  The manner of speaking alone, the propriety and diction, is worlds away from the way we speak today.  I would personally hate to live in this particular day and age.  I would go crazy having to constantly worry about how my actions will be perceived, how to secure a wealthy spouse in order to survive, etc.

 However, for young women such as Lily Bart, that's all they could afford to think about.  Her character's personality confuses me.  For instance, Miss Lily claims that her "best friends...use [her] or abuse [her]; but they don't care a straw what happens to [her]" (Wharton, 6).  How many shallow people can a society have that one has only people like that to refer to as close acquaintances?  She also seems almost defiant to the fact that, as a woman in this time period, she must marry rich in order to accomplish anything!

In conversing about collected books, I found some of Selden's words to Lily to be symbolic.  He says that a particular poorly-written group of works is only popular because it is the "mere rarity that attracts the average collector" (Wharton, 7).  Perhaps the only reason so many men are enchanted by Miss Lily Bart is because of her rarity in beauty.  However, like the said Americana books, it could be that she has nothing else to offer but this rarity of appearance.