The House of Mirth: Importance of Beauty and Reputation in Society

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Selden, because he does not have enough money. Lily's gambling and lavish spending ultimately cause her serious money problems. Eventually, Lily's financial problems cause her to be expelled from her upper-class society, and she leads a meaningless life, and lives in a boardinghouse until she overdoses from sleeping pills. Ironically, Selden comes to ask Lily to marry him, only to find Lily dead. Even Lily's love, Selden, is often blind to the conditions that drive Lily's behavior. It is only after her death that "He saw that all the conditions of life had conspired to keep them apart" (342).
Wealth, reputation, and beauty all play important roles in becoming highly ranked in society within The House of Mirth. However, each of these characteristics plays a slightly different role in the lives of the upper class people of the novel. At times, beauty seems inconsequential, as the beautiful Lily finds herself almost destitute. However, Lily's beauty is clearly to her ...

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is not to think too much about money, and the only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it" (107).
Wealth is a constant and important metaphor in The House of Mirth. Even Lily's beauty is referred to in simple monetary terms by Selden. Selden notes of Lily, ""she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must have been sacrificed to produce her" (27). Lily worries constantly about money, noting her mother's obsession with money and marriage, while Lily spends lavishly and gambles, proving her inability to manage and understand money.
For the women within Wharton's complex novel, marriage was often the only way to guarantee ...

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