Lily's Social Life example essay topic

In the 1900's, women were faced with many obstacles to overcome. From the outside, it seemed that women had the easy life. All they were expected to do was to marry, cook, clean, bear and raise children, etc. However, before and after marriage, they were faced with many difficult decisions. One of the most important decisions was who to marry.

Society expected that women would marry for money because that would be the only way that they would be able to live an upper class life since it was not socially accepted for women to work. The greatest aspect of Terence Davies' "The House of Mirth" is that it's such a downer. The movie tells the story of a young lady by the name of Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson), a self-constructed woman on the lookout for a husband in New York's social circles. Her way of life, which has been purchased mostly on credit, demands money in order to be maintained, and her credit is running out. Since Lily has no fortune of her own, Lily has to find a Husband.

The men in her social circles adore her; however, she is in love with only one man. But as fate would have it, Lawrence Selden's (Eric Stoltz) financial social status is not what Lily desires, just his heart. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Edith Wharton's 1905 novel was more than an exquisite chronicle of upper-echelon etiquette. It was, at its most forceful, parodic and vividly damning, an American tragedy.

Davies ("Distant Voices, Still Lives,"The Neon Bible"), here at his least florid and most unaffected, fashions an adaptation with an equal measure of damnation". The Washington Post states, "Like a corkscrew slowly, inexorably penetrating a bottle of spoiled wine, filmmaker Terence Davies's brilliant, astringent version of Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" painstakingly worms its way downward into turn-of-the-century New York society, only to reveal the sour liquor that flows through the hearts of his monied, well-dressed subjects. As in Wharton's sardonic yet understated 1905 novel of manners, close attention must be paid to what goes on. Davies' arch, measured dialogue -- and this is a world intoxicated with conversation -- is rich with provocative misdirection, sublimated sexuality, telling glances and double and triple entendre". Chicago Sun Times states, "This is one of the saddest stories ever told about the traps that society sets for women. Perhaps its characters fear that if they ever really spoke their thoughts, their whole house of cards, or mirth, would tumble down.

And so they speak in code, and people's lives are disposed of with trivial asides and brittle wit". This cruel twist is what many women during this time period had to face. Either they married for love, and faced the tragedies from society that go with a decision of that nature, or they marry for money and social status and faced the tragedies of their own inner being. Society talks about a 29-year-old single girl with a number of men to choose from but none that she feels she could marry. Ensuing altercations, accompanied by Lily's own refusal to settle, result in her eviction from Eden and set her on the road to self-destruction.

She is the victim of horrible gossip. Lily is alone in the world, except for a rich aunt, from whom she expects an inheritance. She lives in a world of nice house parties and high life, where she is no longer a fresh face: She says, "I've been about too long. People are getting tired of me". But her life is not unpleasant until a chain of events destroys her. The changes are very important but brilliant in how they redefine the scope and nature of Lily's victim hood.

Why can't Lily marry any man she chooses? She finds herself standing at the final step before marriage, and the view simply makes her sick. The thought of commitment is something she just cannot live with. So, politely, she declines. Lily's never sure what she wants. The dinners, and the cruises are all some elaborate piece of theater, and Lily, while never absolutely sure of her role in the theater, is desperate to perform her part.

Her problem is that she has too many audiences, and the reviews are different. Ultimately, the demands wear her out. Lily's social life includes George and Bertha Dorset (Terry Kinney and Laura Linney). Bertha flaunts herself, and George is too timid to rise to the bait. She insists that Lily go with them on their yacht in the Mediterranean, and then gets herself out of a tight squeeze by a act against Lily so cruel and unfair, it almost rips the fabric of the film. After that, Lily is all but done for, although her descent is slow.

"Men have minds like moral flypaper", Lily says. "They will forgive a woman almost anything except the loss of her good name". As Lily finds her credit in society running out, she turns to what she has left and we see finally that she is defeated. She is ready for two outcomes in life, to be a rich man's wife or to live in poverty.

The vise that closes on her in the final scenes is unforgettable. However, she could have prevented her fate. There is the debt to Gus Trenor. She cannot be a rich man's companion because her reputation is will not allow it. Everyone knows the truth about Lily.

They know that she is not a bad person but an admirable one; however, no one will pursue her because perceptions are more important than reality. What ultimately defeats Lily Bart is her own lack of imagination, her inability to think outside the envelope she was born within.

Bibliography

1. Wesley Morris, "A Fully Realized 'House' Gillian Anderson Rises to Challenge of Wharton Novel", San Francisco Chronicle, January 12, 2001.
2. Michael O'Sullivan, "A Winning Full 'House' ", The Washington Post, January 19, 2001.
3. Roger Ebert, "The House of Mirth", Chicago Sun-Times, December 22, 2000.