“We are expected to be pretty and well-dressed until we drop.”
About the Author
Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937)
Edith Wharton was a multi-dimensional player in the field of writing. She played a crucial role
as a short story writer, playwright, and designer. She became the first woman ever to be honored
by the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921. Later on, for her efforts in the field of writing, she
was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1996.
Genre
Drama
Tone
Sympathetic and uses a Healthy Dose of Amused Detachment
Main Message
Importance of Money and difficulty of following society’s Rule
Setting
New York City in 1905
Main Characters in the House of Mirth
Lily Bart-
The Novels Protagonist
Lawrence Selden-
A detached observer of the community of New York that Bart wants to join
Gertrude “Gerty” Farish-
Cousin of Lawrence Selden
Mrs. Julia Peniston-
Lily’s widowed parental aunt
Dillworth-
An ex-suitor of Lily’s whose mother packed him off to India.
Famous Quotes from the House of the Mirth
● “My little old dog, a heartbeat at my feet.”
● “Life is always either a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.”
● “If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.”
● “The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!”