The House of Mirth Essay Introduction
Edith Wharton’s *The House of Mirth*, published in 1905, follows Lily Bart, a beautiful
young woman navigating New York’s wealthy social world while searching for a secure
marriage and a respected place within society. Although Lily possesses the social skills
and appearance valued by her community, her limited financial resources leave her
dependent on the approval and generosity of people whose expectations she struggles to
satisfy. Her choices and relationships gradually weaken her social position, while the rigid
standards of her class leave her with increasingly few opportunities to recover it. Through
Lily’s decline, Wharton exposes the pressures placed on women to exchange beauty and
social status for economic security and examines the consequences of a society in which
wealth, reputation, and marriage determine an individual’s value.
