Summary
The House of Mirth, published in 1905, is one of Edith Wharton's most acclaimed and influential novels. Set in the high society of Gilded Age New York, it tells the tragic story of Lily Bart, a beautiful but impoverished woman struggling to maintain her place in the city's ruthless social world. Through Lily's downfall, Wharton offers a scathing critique of the materialism and moral emptiness of New York's upper class. The novel was an immediate critical and commercial success, establishing Wharton as a major American author. Acclaimed for its vivid depiction of 1890s New York society and its complex heroine, The House of Mirth solidified many of the themes Wharton would explore throughout her career, including the restricted roles for women and the conflict between social expectations and personal desires.
Plot
Lily Bart is a beautiful but impoverished socialite in 1890s New York high society. At 29 years old, she is nearing the end of her marriageability and desperately seeks a wealthy husband to secure her place in society. Lily has several prospects, including the boring but rich Percy Gryce and the nouveau riche businessman Simon Rosedale. However, she harbors feelings for Lawrence Selden, a lawyer who lacks the fortune she needs.
Lily's gambling debts and need to keep up appearances lead her to accept questionable financial help from Gus Trenor, the husband of her friend Judy. This spawns rumors about their relationship. Lily also burns bridges with her wealthy aunt, Mrs. Peniston, who was expected to leave her an inheritance. To escape the gossip, Lily accepts an invitation to join Bertha and George Dorset on a cruise. Bertha, to hide her own affair, insinuates that Lily is having an affair with George.
With her reputation ruined, Lily is cast out of high society. She struggles to support herself, taking jobs as a social secretary, a hat maker, and eventually resigns herself to working in a millinery factory. Despite opportunities to redeem her social standing by exposing Bertha's affairs or marrying Rosedale, Lily refuses to compromise her principles. She also develops an addiction to sleeping medication.
Lily finally receives a small inheritance when Mrs. Peniston dies, which she uses to repay her debt to Gus Trenor. Distraught and addicted to sleeping pills, Lily takes an overdose. Lawrence Selden arrives too late. Along with Lily’s dead body, he finds evidence proving her innocence in the rumors that destroyed her life.
Themes
Social status and wealth in Gilded Age New York
The limited options for women in early 20th-century America
The conflict between individual desires and societal expectations
The corrupting influence of materialism and greed
The struggle for independence and self-determination
The consequences of gossip and scandal in high society
The tension between love and pragmatism in relationships
Setting
The House of Mirth takes place in New York City and its environs during the 1890s, at the height of the Gilded Age. This was an era of rapid economic growth and extreme wealth disparity, with a small upper class of old money families and nouveau riche industrialists living lives of extravagant luxury. Wharton vividly depicts the opulent mansions, lavish parties, and exclusive social circles of New York's high society during this period.
Much of the action unfolds in grand estates like Bellomont, the Trenors' country home, as well as luxurious Manhattan townhouses and fashionable resorts. Key scenes occur at glamorous social gatherings, from dinner parties and balls to the opera. The novel also ventures beyond New York to Newport, Rhode Island, and Monte Carlo, playground destinations for the leisure class. As Lily's fortunes decline, the setting shifts to more modest locales like boarding houses and working-class neighborhoods.
Throughout the novel, Wharton contrasts the glittering facade of high society with the cutthroat social climbing and moral bankruptcy lurking beneath. The physical settings mirror Lily's journey, from the rarefied air of Fifth Avenue mansions to the dingy streets where she ultimately meets her fate. Wharton's intimate knowledge of this world allows her to paint a vivid, authentic portrait of Gilded Age New York in all its glamour and cruelty.
Characters
Lily Bart: The protagonist. A beautiful but impoverished 29-year-old woman trying to secure her place in New York society through marriage. Lily is complex—she longs for wealth and status but also prizes independence, which leads to her downfall. Her refusal to compromise her principles ultimately destroys her socially and financially.
Lawrence Selden: A lawyer from an old New York family who moves easily in high society circles despite modest means. He and Lily have a mutual attraction and understanding, but his detachment and her ambition keep them apart. Selden admires Lily's beauty and spirit but is often critical of her superficiality.
Bertha Dorset: A manipulative, adulterous socialite who becomes Lily's nemesis. She ruins Lily's reputation to divert attention from her own affairs. Bertha represents the cruel, hypocritical side of high society.
Simon Rosedale: A Jewish financier trying to break into high society. He proposes to Lily when she is still socially desirable. Rosedale is ambitious and shrewd but eventually shows unexpected kindness to Lily.
Judy Trenor: Lily's friend and a prominent society hostess. She tries to match Lily with eligible bachelors but turns on her after rumors of Lily's impropriety with her husband.
Gus Trenor: Judy's husband, who develops an infatuation for Lily. He makes risky investments on her behalf, expecting romantic favors in return.
Quick facts
The House of Mirth was originally serialized in Scribner's Magazine in 1905 before being published as a book later that year.
Wharton wrote the first draft of the novel in just six weeks.
The book's title comes from a verse in Ecclesiastes: “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
The protagonist Lily Bart was partly inspired by Wharton's friend Constance Fenimore Woolson, who died by suicide in 1894.
The House of Mirth was an immediate bestseller, selling 140,000 copies by the end of 1905.
Wharton earned more than $500,000 in today's money from royalties for the book.
The House of Mirth was adapted into a Broadway play in 1906, just one year after publication.
The novel was adapted for the screen in 1918, 1956, 1981, and 2000. The most recent film version was directed by Terence Davies and stars Gillian Anderson as Lily.
The House of Mirth is considered one of the first novels to explore the concept of the “New Woman” emerging in American society at the turn of the 20th century.
Wharton wrote much of the novel while living in Paris, drawing on her memories of New York high society from afar.
About the Author
Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a prolific and acclaimed American author. Born into a wealthy New York family, she drew on her insider's knowledge of upper-class society to realistically portray life in the Gilded Age in her fiction. Some of her best known works include The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, and Ethan Frome.
Publishing her first novel at the age of 40, Wharton went on to have an extraordinarily productive writing career. In addition to her 15 novels, she wrote numerous novellas, short stories, and poems. Many of her stories deal with themes of social expectations, repressed desires, and the manners of old New York families. Wharton was known for her subtle use of irony and her astute critiques of the society she grew up in.
Beyond her literary career, Wharton was an influential tastemaker. She co-authored The Decoration of Houses in 1897, which became a foundational text of interior design. Wharton was well-traveled, crossing the Atlantic more than 60 times. During World War I, she was a dedicated supporter of the French war effort, establishing charities and hospitals. For her wartime work, she was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government. Many of her novels have been adapted into films, television series, and plays over the years. She was commemorated on a US postage stamp in 1980.
