Character of Seldon “He declared himself entirely at her disposal: the adventure struck him as diverting. As a spectator, he had always enjoyed Lily Bart; and his course lay so far out of her orbit that it amused him to be drawn for a moment into the sudden intimacy which her proposal implied.” Source: The House of Mirth, By Edith Wharton It should be noted that the role of Selden is highly important because it is a stock role in the novel of manners, and therefore helps in clearing and highlighting the unspoken conversation between people. In the novel the construction of his character is such that he is the observer, the person who cannot marry. It is in this position of the observer, that an unbiased view is shown, and it is through his …show more content…
As he surveyed the white square set in an exotic coquetry of architecture, the studied tropicality of the gardens, the groups loitering in the foreground against mauve mountains which suggested a sublime stage-setting forgotten in a hurried shifting of scenes--as he took in the whole outspread effect of light and leisure, he felt a movement of revulsion from the last few months of his life.” Source: The House of Mirth, By Edith Wharton Seldon was a weak character, as he offered advice to Lily, who eventually drifted her towards him, and after that event he left her without sufficient proof, indicating his inability to raise important subjects before making decisions in life. Title of the novel: Bible, I.e., Ecclesiastics 7:3-4: "Sorrow is better than laughter: for by sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." It should be noted that the novel, greatly elaborates the real reason for the destruction of Lily as a simple lack of
Ethan Frome, the main character, portrays a weak character. He illustrates his weakness as a person in many ways. It starts off with him marrying his wife that he didn’t marry for the right reasons, then wanting her dead, so he can be with Mattie, the love of his life, and because Zeena is self-willed. He then agrees to partake in the very most thing that demonstrates how weak and desperate he really becomes. He has many difficulties and things he has to overcome and stand up to that he can’t find the courage and strength to do so and because of this becomes a weak character.
Edith Wharton’s novel, The House of Mirth, is the story of a girl named Lily Bart trying to find a place for herself in society. Wharton used allusion throughout the book to aid the reader in understanding the events of the narrative. The following essay will highlight three allusions Wharton used, and explain how they helped the reader to understand the corresponding events from the book.
In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan, a reserved young man was torn between two women. He was married to Zenobia Frome, but his true love was his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver. Zeena and Mattie were different in all aspects. Mattie was a caring, loving, beautiful young girl, while Zeena was a sickly, shrewish woman aged well beyond her years. Ethan was continuously drawn to Mattie throughout the novel, as she was much more attractive and amicable than Zeena.
Everyone, at some time in life, will experience fear. But, often fantasies are created in one's mind to escape that fear. Ethan Frome uses his fantasy as an escape to the entrapment of his marriage and the fear of public condemnation.
While everyone is legally intitled to the pursuit of happiness, the truth of the matter is that very few ever achieve it. Ones morals, standards, conscious, or perhaps even fate, keep them from accepting a pure form of satisfaction. While a person can search and struggle their entire life for happiness, the truth of the matter is, that they will never be happy with what they have infront of them. The character Ethan, portrayed in Edith Whartons novel, Ethan Frome, is emotionally weak, he battles constantly with what he wants, how to get it, and what is ethically right. Ethan was obligated to care for his wife Zeena until death, but his misguided decisions lead him to be concerned only with his immediate happiness. Much like Ethan in Ethan Frome, people who concentrate on personal happiness, without factoring in personal responsibility, set themselves up for a painful reality check.
Edith Wharton, originally named “Edith Newbold Jones”(Cliff Notes), was born on “January 24, 1862 in New York City to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones and died on August 11, 1937”(Cliff Notes). She was born into a wealthy family and was a “designer, short story writer and American novelist”(Cliff Notes). Wharton descended from the English and Dutch cultures. She had two siblings, one known as “Frederic Rhinelander Jones” (Cliff Notes) who was sixteen years older than her, and “Henry Edward Jones eleven years older”(Cliff Notes). While her brothers attended boarding school, Wharton became “raised as an only child in a brownstone mansion on West Twenty-third Street in New York City”(Cliff
In the novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the character of Ethan Frome plays an important role in the development of the rest of the book. He has several character traits which distinguish him from the other main characters. Also, there are many factors which play against him throughout the novel.
In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, there is a prevalent conflict of class struggles. Ethan Frome, his wife Zeena, and their maid Mattie all live in extreme poverty. Wharton portrays them as miserable beings, seemingly always encompassed in misfortune. Wharton herself, however, lived a near opposite life compared to that of her characters. She was born into fortune; money was rarely a concern for her (Lee). Through a Marxist lens, one could argue that Edith Wharton, a woman of extreme wealth and privilege, would characterize lower, working class people such as the ones in Ethan Frome in an inaccurately dismal light. The consistent image of winter and coldness, typically associated with misery, in Ethan Frome foreshadows an unhappy ending for the
In the first chapter of The House of Mirth, while drinking tea with Selden in his apartment, Lily says to him, “you can’t possibly think I want to marry you” (Wharton 10). This comment is stated and accepted without further explanation, because both Lily and Selden know that Selden is not wealthy enough to meet Lily’s expectations, even though it is apparent throughout The House of Mirth that Lily has feelings for Selden, and he for her. Linda Wagner Martin’s remark, “The poignant but all-too-real narrative of the beautiful Lily Bart, fast aging beyond marriageability” points to the fact that Lily Bart was in her late 20’s and was expected to have found a husband by that age (Wagner-Martin 6). Wagner Martin also claims that, “Wharton creates in The House of Mirth the impressionable character of Lily Bart, flowerlike in fragility as well as name, who has accepted the social decree that she become a beautiful marriageable object” (Wagner-Martin 4). The narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper points out that her husband is a respected doctor, and that he provides for her. Despite his controlling and dismissive treatment of her, she consoles herself with the thought that, “He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well” (Perkins Gillman). In exchange for perceived comfort, she is his
Another factor in the storyline is society's attitude to class differences. Higher classed people were never allowed to socialise with people below their class. For example, Alice who is a young girl born to a rich high-classed family queries why she cannot marry Thomas, a lower classed boy. This is answered by "'Cos he's not a gentleman." Higher classed people were not permitted to marry out of their class. If they did it would be considered shameful and parents would often disown their children. Another example is, "Never was he more ashamed than when he saw their eyes scan his heavy jacket and breeches, his hob-nailed boots and cotton shirt and these were his best clothes" this is when Thomas visits Alexander's house. Alexander is much higher classed. It shows how he feels to be in the company of those higher classed.
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
Edith Wharton, was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in literature, she wrote a lot of stories that focused on marriage. Many of her stories are set in the high society world of America in the 1900’s. An example of this, is the short story she wrote called “The Other Two” which takes place in 1904 in New York. “The Other Two” discuss the concepts divorce in the early 1900’s and adaptive behavior which is based on Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the fittest”.
Edith Wharton lived a very interesting life. She had grown up in a relatively high class family. She had some trouble in her relationship though. Most of her novels are written about her past life experiences. Although she did have challenges to face, Edith Wharton ended up extremely well.
Austen’s novel focuses on the social class known as the rural landowning gentry, and the people whose education or family connections enable them to associate with the gentry. Austen uses Marianne Dashwood to represent the "sensible and clever; but eager in everything; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation, she was everything but prudent" counterpart to her sister Elinor Dashwood who had "strength of understanding and coolness of judgment," neither of whom belong to the land gentry any longer. Austen juxtaposes the two sisters journeys as a way to shed light on the corruptness and instability of the social class system. By surrounding Marianne and Elinor with social climbing characters such as John Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars, Austen illuminates the ruthlessness that surrounds the sisters. The three men are too preoccupied with either getting...
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.