Chapter Eleven
The House of Mirth
By Edith Wharton
Lily, having thought of a new plan and regaining a purpose, sets out with the apparent course of using the letters bought almost a year ago with the intention she planned on never withdrawing to. Yet, on her pathway to the Dorsets' house, Lily is stopped by her past and turned toward her memories with Selden. This sudden purposeful and powerful shift symbolizes Lily's final battle with love against money. The letters, symbols of temptation, secrets, and betrayal to her true values and morals, have been a constant weight upon Lily, but by consciously choosing Selden over their pull, she, I hope, has chosen love over wealth. Thus, she has won her final victory fairly, allowing her to move on despite the challenges that still persist. Like in Harry Potter, Lily has overcome the temptations of living easily through conversion to Voldemort's side by fighting and it is with an open and clear mind now that she can move on as Harry did by following her heart.
"Time, when it is left to itself and no definite demands are made on it, cannot be trusted to move at any recognized pace Wharton, Page 246)." This wise phrase, presented at a time when time is running out, makes every second valuable by reminding the reader that not everything is always as it seems. In Chapter 11, it appears as though Lily has lost any purpose she has ever had in living as she no longer has a direction in life, dreams to pursue, places to go, or people to be with yet, for a moment, the time stops and turns back.
Lily, having thought of a new plan and regaining a purpose, sets out with the apparent course of using the letters bought almost a year ago with the intention she planned on never withdrawing to. Yet, on her pathway to the Dorsets' house, Lily is stopped by her past and turned toward her memories with Selden. This sudden purposeful and powerful shift symbolizes Lily's final battle with love against money. The letters, symbols of temptation, secrets, and betrayal to her true values and morals, have been a constant weight upon Lily, but by consciously choosing Selden over their pull, she, I hope, has chosen love over wealth. Thus, she has won her final victory fairly, allowing her to move on despite the challenges that still persist. Like in Harry Potter, Lily has overcome the temptations of living easily through conversion to Voldemort's side by fighting and it is with an open and clear mind now that she can move on as Harry did by following her heart.
While old wounds can be reopened, I hope that Lily recovers and continues to dream and love. I hope that she does not turn back down the road of her past and fall to the power of money. As time is running out for Lily, I hope she makes every second count.
Chapter Ten
The House of Mirth
By Edith Wharton
As Lily finds her past repeated as she is once more pushed from her social circle do to misunderstandings and disillusionment of facts, Wharton blames society as much as if not more than Lily. Wharton, a product of wealth in her own time, presents her analysis and witness of society in her writing. She, knowing the personal struggles of Lily, is able to express her emotions and identify with the pressures of money in marriage, the challenges of finding and holding a job as a woman, and the burdens of conforming to society. Thus, I feel it is with earnestness that Wharton writes and pleas for social change as she writes not about a dream or fantasy, but real life and the world she wanders daily. For, like Lily, Wharton had traveled the world and knew of its greatness and wished for success and happiness. Additionally, she knew of the power of friendships like Selden's and the pain of affairs and betrayal as she wished for support and understanding in the need of emphasis on true love. While the novel is about imagined characters, aspects of them were true and living analogies to Wharton's own life.
"Once more, Lily had withdrawn from an ambiguous situation in time to save her self-respect, but too late for public vindication (Wharton, Page 230)." In analyzing the narrator of the story, one as a reader analyzes Wharton as the writer of the plot. With a third person omniscient and objective point of view, Wharton's own life and views become more clear in the narrator's presentation of events and focus.
As Lily finds her past repeated as she is once more pushed from her social circle do to misunderstandings and disillusionment of facts, Wharton blames society as much as if not more than Lily. Wharton, a product of wealth in her own time, presents her analysis and witness of society in her writing. She, knowing the personal struggles of Lily, is able to express her emotions and identify with the pressures of money in marriage, the challenges of finding and holding a job as a woman, and the burdens of conforming to society. Thus, I feel it is with earnestness that Wharton writes and pleas for social change as she writes not about a dream or fantasy, but real life and the world she wanders daily. For, like Lily, Wharton had traveled the world and knew of its greatness and wished for success and happiness. Additionally, she knew of the power of friendships like Selden's and the pain of affairs and betrayal as she wished for support and understanding in the need of emphasis on true love. While the novel is about imagined characters, aspects of them were true and living analogies to Wharton's own life.
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