A
common, and perhaps well-hidden, theme throughout The House of Mirth is that while Lily is so apt to analyze everyone
around her, deep down, as revealed by characters like Lawrence Selden, Miss
Bart wishes to be inspected and understood with the same precision and accuracy
she bestows upon the individuals under her observation: “She had never heard
him speak with such affirmation. His habitual touch was that of the eclectic
who lightly turns over and compares; and she was moved by this sudden glimpse
into the laboratory where his faiths were formed” (Wharton, 62). At this point
Lily begins to chip away at the perhaps reserved intelligence and perceptiveness
of Selden, who, in his typically lackadaisical manner, goes on to describe an
interesting philosophy of free-will and optimistic self-determinism the lawyer
calls the “republic of the spirit”, aka the bachelor’s definition of success;
as opposed to Lily’s predictable and perhaps unusually naïve explanation that
success is: “to get as much as one can out of life” (Wharton, 60). Such a
narrow-minded response seems to justify Selden’s cynicism toward Lily’s behavior
and need for affluence. At the same time though, the answer given may be more
evident of the social conditioning Miss Bart has received and less reflective
of her true nature, which Selden suspects to be wholly artificial and
self-serving; however, considering how little we truly know of Lily added with
the short allowance of time we’ve had to judge her motives and actions, I think
it would be unfair to sell her out as simply “manipulative”.
Wind
the clock backward during the duo’s conversation and a person sees a curious
moment of genuine shame felt by Miss Bart about herself that leads one to
suspect her desire for wealth is simply an enumerated value: that in fact under
the surface of her seemingly selfish visage lies a more innocent and romantic
sense of ideals. By setting off her more important priorities (or at least the
professed ones), Lily, whether or not she is aware, commits the slip of
revealing a more tender side, a side perhaps more like Selden then either
parties realize. Take for example her sudden concern at being categorized as shallow
or ignoble by her male friend: “You think me horribly sordid, don’t you? But perhaps
it’s rather that I never had any choice. There was no one, I mean, to tell me
about the republic of the spirit” (Wharton, 60). In quickly saving face for her
unwonted show of weakness by giving excuses, Lily inadvertently sentences
herself to being guilty of actually caring
about what Selden thinks of her; why else bother trying to justify her motive
to marry a wealthy man? The question then remains: if Selden is aware but
hiding his knowledge of Lily’s soft spot for him, how will he react later
throughout the novel? I think it won’t be long before this inquiry is answered;
honestly my hunch is that the growing intimacy between the two will become the
ultimate conflict of Edith Wharton’s book.
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Lily and Selden definitely have an interesting relationship. I think that Lily has genuine feelings for Selden, but she feels conflicted because of the societal expectations she is subject to. It seems like he's aware of her feelings, and it will speak to his character how he handles the situation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a perceptive post, Isaac. As you say, Lily has ideals that are at odds with the sophisticated and cynical ones that she discusses with Selden.
ReplyDeleteSelden and Lily really are more complicated than they seem at first glance. They both seem to like on another, but they keep missing each other when they express their feelings. I think that Lily is so consumed with her vision of achieving and maintaining a high position in society that she doesn't seem to think that Selden is the best option. However, I think that the conflict between Lily and Bertha is more central to the story because of Bertha's lies and gossip. It is ultimately Bertha who dashes most of Lily's dreams by claiming that Lily was with her husband. Which probably helped Lily a bit overall because it helped her realize who her real friends were.
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