Chapters 3-4

The more I read of Wharton's The House of Mirth, the more I'm shocked by what a shallow society Miss Lily Bart lives in.  The value of a man or woman is not based on their character or morals, but on how wealthy of a lifestyle they are able to live.  They're all actors, constantly trying to prove to the world they have the means to live a life of perfection and luxury.

Underneath Miss Bart's problem-free facade, however, she reveals within these two chapters that she feels more like her servant girl than a prominent woman of society.  After she realizes how much money she foolishly lost in gambling, she comes to the aggravating realization that "she and her maid were in the same position, except that the latter received her wages more regularly" (Wharton, 21).  She feels trapped in life, with no where to go but marriage, and nothing to rely on to get there except for her beauty.  That's why she's so flustered when she discovers the lines on her face late at night; her own pettiness and that of those surrounding Lily don't look kindly on flaws and, as an unmarried woman, Lily can not afford to have such flaws.  

It's hard for me to feel sorry for Lily and her circumstances when I read about how shallow and judgemental she is.  She thinks herself superior to all because of her good looks, she envies a woman who can afford to treat men as disposable toys, and she is accustomed to, in the end, getting whatever she desires.  In fact, it seems that Lily is so sure of herself and her abilities to read men, that she is now confident she could marry Percy Gryce at any time of her choosing.