The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton - Bonnie Lynn Gerard (essay date winter 1998)
Bonnie Lynn Gerard (essay date winter 1998)
SOURCE: Gerard, Bonnie Lynn. “From Tea to Chloral: Raising the Dead Lily Bart.” Twentieth Century Literature 44, no. 4 (winter 1998): 409-27.
[In the following essay, Gerard argues that Lily's death provides a break from Wharton's naturalism throughout The House of Mirth to allow for a moment of individual self-determination.]
“Gad! what a study might be made of the tyranny of the stomach—”
—The House of Mirth (309)
Much has been made of the “square envelopes” fashionable society “showered” upon the “hall-table” of young Lily Bart's New York home (44). Much has also been made of the consequent “oblong envelopes”—constant reminders of the price of fashion—that were “allowed to gather dust in the depth of a bronze jar” (44).1 But the invitation and the bill are not the only envelopes tyrannizing...
[The entire page is 8934 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Related Topics
