House Of Mirth Analysis

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1) What is the symbolic value of money in the novel? In the House of Mirth, there are many symbols, a larger one being money. Money is represented and symbolized as the “leader of society”, the one responsible that governs all women., and also the evil force driving people into certain beliefs or thoughts. Many examples of this are shown throughout the book, especially when various rumors are spread around by Bertha. Bertha is the prime instigator of these rumors, as she is incredibly wealthy. This gives her the power and ability to be believed over a middle-class woman trying to integrate into the upper-class with no funds for support. The only way to live life happily in the upper-class was top get everything that they wanted; money being the main “everything.” Because of this greed and envy develops amongst the characters. Foreshadowing was very apparent as well. Money, as we all know leads to the demise of a considerable amount of people in the real-world after something has turned up to make them lose it all. This happened in the novel as Lily had been financially backed by Mr. …show more content…

Selden sensed that Lily had intentions of marrying a man of wealth, but also knew she had still, love for him. Selden experiences some small changes when he visits Lily and sees her with Mr. Trenor and George Dorset. This is because he believe that an affair may actually be going on and decides that she may not be for him if she can 't show love towards him. However, later in the novel, they are both on a cruise ship. Selden in this trip on the cruise managed to fall back into love, but by the end of the book was never able to secure it as the day he was to get engaged, she was sound dead overdosed on sleeping pills. This changes him in a major way, seeing that he cannot have the girl he had been desiring for so

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