The House of Mirth by
Edith Wharton
“To prove to her that, if she would
only trust him, he could make a handsome for her. . .” (Wharton, 68). It is
apparent to me that in the story so far, money is a major symbol. Money is
essentially the life of the upper class. Money is power. Money is reputation.
Money is living. Unfortunately, Lily has none. Without it, she has no power to
quell the wild rumors that surround her and she cannot create rumors to lower
the reputation of others. Lily’s reputation has been ruined by Bertha and all
of Lily’s friends ignore her since Bertha is richer than Lily. For Lily to
continue living with the elites, she must acquire money to sustain their
standard of living. Moreover, Lily will not be able to live with herself if she
does not have any money.
In
addition, the lily flower symbolizes Lily Bart. Lily is a very special and
delicate lily. The lily must be tended with care, water, and sunshine. To the
real Lily, her water is wealth. Her sunshine is a wealthy husband. Her
reputation is the delicate caring she needs. All of these things come with a
rich husband, whom she does not have. If Lily does marry soon, I suspect a
rather sad ending for Lily.
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