The House of Mirth: I Vote Seldon

Lawrence Selden

Gus Trenor

Percy Gryce

At this point in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth there are three main men in Miss Lily Bart's life, all contending for her attention.  There is the extremely wealthy Simon Rosedale whom Lily doesn't much care for but is kind to because he knows of her situation with Gus Trenor and has other dirt on hear as well, like the day he saw her exiting Selden's apartment.  Then there is Gus Trenor himself, the married man who is obviously very attracted to Lily and yearns to control her.  Trenor is nothing short of creepy as he tries more and more fervently to spend more time, preferably alone, with Lily.  He even lies to her about his wife being out of town and invites he to his house very late in the night, something entirely inappropriate for a single women to do whether or not the man in question was married.  I feel so bad for Lily, she is already in a huge mess and it seems to me that all the characters are similarly making her situation worse and worse in any way they can.  The only other character besides Lily that i particularly like is Lawrence Selden.  I have a suspicion that Edith Wharton was a humble women in society like Gerty or similar to Selden's class because the writing seems to favor him and his free lifestyle and she points out many of the bad aspects of wealthy socialite life.  Anyways, Selden loves Lily and I really think that Lily shares his feelings.  She always is happy to see him and he seems the only man with which she can freely converse. Selden admits to her, "The only way I can help you is by loving you" (Wharton, 113).  Awwww!! I know that Selden's love would convince me that he is the best choice as far as a husband is concerned, but Lily must consider the negatives of the situation that would accompany her marrying Seldon. Her wealth and status would take a huge hit, and as I have gotten to know her superficial need for extravagance, is a horrible tragedy in the mind of Lily Bart.  The real tragedy is that unless Lily can look past the unnecessary aspects of her life, the perks that come with being born into wealth, she will lose something far more valuable than the riches: a life full of love and happiness.  I think that one theme of Edith Wharton's novel might be this, that a person must look beyond superficialities in order to find happiness.  This is a reoccurring theme in various stories i have read or seen in movies.  Although it's the middle of July, the example of Scrooge in the classic Christmas story comes to mind.  I am sure you're familiar with the story, how Scrooge earns his living off practically robbing the poor with his stinginess and extreme lack of guilt. He is an extremely unhappy man, getting mere satisfaction from sitting in his office and counting his piles of money. As he is visited by three ghosts on the night of Christmas Eve, the ghosts reveal to him that he was far happier as a younger, poorer man than he is now, alone because he chased all his friends away in his efforts to become wealthy.  Well, I have really gotten off the topic that I intended to write this blog about, so anyways, I wish Lily would choose Selden. He has put himself out there and admitted his love, and still takes this for granted (possibly another theme: Lily's overconfidence and the consequences that arise because of her disdain for the feelings of others). Hopefully Lily can realize her mistake before it is too late.