Objectification of Women in The House of Mirth Essay -- House Mirth Es

Objectification of Women in The habitation of gloating Edith Whartons The House of Mirth is an affront to the false social values of dapper bare-assed York fellowship. The heroine is Lily Bart, a woman who is destroyed by the very society that produces her. Lily is well-born but poor. The story traces the decline of Lily as she moves through a serial of living residences, from houses to hotel lodgings. Lily lives in a sweet York society where miens are all. Women devour a decorative function in such an environment, and even her name, Lily, suggests she is a flower of femininity, i.e. an object of decoration as well as of oomph to the male element. We see this is very true once Lilys bloom fades, as it were, a time when she is cast aside by her peers no lifelong being useful as something to admire on the surface. The theme of the new in this aspect is that identity based on mere appearance is not enough to sustain the human soul physically or metaphysically. Once she is no longer able to keep the eye of her peers, Lily finds herself with no identity and dies. This analysis will discuss the theme of the objectification of women in a male dominated society inherent throughout the novel. Lily Bart and her female parent have been socially ruined in a sense because of the frugal failures of their father and husband respectfull. However, Lilys commence teaches her that she can still maintain a high social status if she marries well, i.e. a rich man. In fact, Lilys mother is known for making the most out of the least as she is noted for the unlimited effect she produced on limited means (Wharton 48). In a society where women are considered valuable only for the appearance they present, it is impossible f... ...vel could mayhap be that women are commodified from the cradle to the grave and that never in a male dominated society will they ever be fully appreciated as separate entities with whole identities equal and separate from males. works CITED Restuccia, F. L. The Name of the Lily Edith Whartons Feminism(s). The House of Mirth Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Benstock, S. (ed.). New York, Bedford Books, 1994, 404-418. Robinson, L. S. The Traffic in Women A Cultural Critique of The House of Mirth. The House of Mirth Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Benstock, S. (ed.). New York, Bedford Books, 1994, 340-58. Wharton, E. The House of Mirth. New York, Bedford Books, 1994. 2