The House of Mirth Edith Wharton, 1905, Social Criticism

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And Mrs. Dorset leaned back against her travelling cushions with a smilewhich made Lily wish there had been no vacant seat beside her own. The stopping of the train at Garrisons would not have distracted her fromthese thoughts, had she not caught a sudden look of distress in hercompanion’s eye. His seat faced toward the door, and she guessed that hehad been perturbed by the approach of an acquaintance; a fact confirmedby the turning of heads and general sense of commotion which her ownentrance into a railway-carriage was apt to produce. As far as Lily could learn, this had hitherto been Mr. Gryce’s onlyoccupation, and she might have been pardoned for thinking it not too harda task to interest a young man who had been kept on such low diet. Atany rate, she felt herself so completely in command of the situation thatshe yielded to a sense of security in which all fear of Mr. Rosedale, andof the difficulties on which that fear was contingent, vanished beyondthe edge of thought.

Appreciation: Terence Davies, a master filmmaker, brought quiet passion and lyrical beauty to the screen

It was this moment of love, this fleeting victory over themselves, whichhad kept them from atrophy and extinction; which, in her, had reached outto him in every struggle against the influence of her surroundings, andin him, had kept alive the faith that now drew him penitent andreconciled to her side. He put it from him with sudden loathing, and setting his lips, addressedhimself resolutely to what remained of his task. After all, that taskwould be easier to perform, now that his personal stake in it wasannulled. Selden ran eagerly up the steps and pulled the bell; and even in hisstate of self-absorption it came as a sharp surprise to him that the doorshould open so promptly. It was still more of a surprise to see, as heentered, that it had been opened by Gerty Farish—and that behind her, inan agitated blur, several other figures ominously loomed. As she lay there she said to herself that there was something she musttell Selden, some word she had found that should make life clear betweenthem.

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She knew the symptoms at once, and was not surprised to be hailed by thehigh notes of a pretty woman, who entered the train accompanied by amaid, a bull-terrier, and a footman staggering under a load of bags anddressing-cases. She paused before the mantelpiece, studying herself in the mirror whileshe adjusted her veil. The attitude revealed the long slope of herslender sides, which gave a kind of wild-wood grace to her outline—asthough she were a captured dryad subdued to the conventions of thedrawing-room; and Selden reflected that it was the same streak of sylvanfreedom in her nature that lent such savour to her artificiality. Just a whiff, then.” She leaned forward, holding the tip ofher cigarette to his. As she did so, he noted, with a purely impersonalenjoyment, how evenly the black lashes were set in her smooth white lids,and how the purplish shade beneath them melted into the pure pallor ofthe cheek.

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They wouldhave over-emphasized the novelty of the adventure, trying to make himfeel in it the zest of an escapade. She noticedthe letters and notes heaped on the table among his gloves and sticks;then she found herself in a small library, dark but cheerful, with itswalls of books, a pleasantly faded Turkey rug, a littered desk and, as hehad foretold, a tea-tray on a low table near the window. A breeze hadsprung up, swaying inward the muslin curtains, and bringing a fresh scentof mignonette and petunias from the flower-box on the balcony. When Lily and Selden return from their walk later than they had planned, everyone sees that they spent time together. Bertha becomes extremely jealous and, to take her revenge on Lily, decides to tell Percy Gryce that Lily’s attitude of purity and self-restraint is only an illusion.

The House of Mirth (2000) - imdb

The House of Mirth ( .

Posted: Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:25:24 GMT [source]

They proved tobe few and unimportant, but among them he found, with a strange commotionof the heart, the note he had written her the day after the Brys’entertainment. The strength of the victory shone forth from her as she lifted herirradiated face from the child on her knees. “But, mercy, I didn’t meanto go on like this about myself, with you sitting there looking so faggedout. Only it’s so lovely having you here, and letting you see just howyou’ve helped me.” The baby had sunk back blissfully replete, and Mrs.Struther softly rose to lay the bottle aside.

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Under ordinary circumstances, there would have been nothingsurprising in an invitation from Bertha Dorset; but since the Bellomontepisode an unavowed hostility had kept the two women apart. Now, with astart of inner wonder, Lily felt that her thirst for retaliation had diedout. IF YOU WOULD FORGIVE YOUR ENEMY, says the Malay proverb, FIRSTINFLICT A HURT ON HIM; and Lily was experiencing the truth of theapothegm. If she had destroyed Mrs. Dorset’s letters, she might havecontinued to hate her; but the fact that they remained in her possessionhad fed her resentment to satiety. Miss Bart had received one or twonotes from Judy Trenor, reproaching her for not returning to Bellomont;but she replied evasively, alleging the obligation to remain with heraunt. In truth, however, she was fast wearying of her solitary existencewith Mrs. Peniston, and only the excitement of spending hernewly-acquired money lightened the dulness of the days.

At this picture of loveliness in distress, the pathos of which washeightened by the light touch with which it was drawn, a murmur ofindignant sympathy broke from Trenor. This impulse was reinforced by the reflection that ifshe had married Gryce she would have been surrounded by flattery andapproval, whereas, having refused to sacrifice herself to expediency, shewas left to bear the whole cost of her resistance. Miss Bart, on her way to the station, had leisure to muse over herfriend’s words, and their peculiar application to herself.

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She questioned himintelligently, she heard him submissively; and, prepared for the look oflassitude which usually crept over his listeners’ faces, he grew eloquentunder her receptive gaze. The “points” she had had the presence of mindto glean from Selden, in anticipation of this very contingency, wereserving her to such good purpose that she began to think her visit to himhad been the luckiest incident of the day. She had once more shown hertalent for profiting by the unexpected, and dangerous theories as to theadvisability of yielding to impulse were germinating under the surface ofsmiling attention which she continued to present to her companion. She had just time to take her seat before the train started; but havingarranged herself in her corner with the instinctive feeling for effectwhich never forsook her, she glanced about in the hope of seeing someother member of the Trenors’ party.

She “went through” the linenand blankets in the precise spirit of the penitent exploring the innerfolds of conscience; she sought for moths as the stricken soul seeks forlurking infirmities. The topmost shelf of every closet was made to yieldup its secret, cellar and coal-bin were probed to their darkest depthsand, as a final stage in the lustral rites, the entire house was swathedin penitential white and deluged with expiatory soapsuds. Her glance and accent so plainly included Rosedale in this privilegedcircle that his small eyes puckered with gratification, and a knowingsmile drew up his moustache. ” she exclaimedwith a trembling laugh; but before he could answer, the flow ofcomprehension between them was abruptly stayed by the reappearance of GusTrenor, who advanced with Mr. Rosedale in his wake.

Mrs. Peniston was Mr. Bart’s widowed sister, and if she was by no meansthe richest of the family group, its other members nevertheless aboundedin reasons why she was clearly destined by Providence to assume thecharge of Lily. In the first place she was alone, and it would becharming for her to have a young companion. Then she sometimes travelled,and Lily’s familiarity with foreign customs—deplored as a misfortune byher more conservative relatives—would at least enable her to act as akind of courier. But as a matter of fact Mrs. Peniston had not beenaffected by these considerations. She had taken the girl simply becauseno one else would have her, and because she had the kind of moralMAUVAISE HONTE which makes the public display of selfishness difficult,though it does not interfere with its private indulgence. It would havebeen impossible for Mrs. Peniston to be heroic on a desert island, butwith the eyes of her little world upon her she took a certain pleasure inher act.

In the meantime, after eating at his cousin Gerty Farish’s, Selden goes to Carry Fisher’s to look for Lily. When he hears that she has already left, he decides to go for a walk. Ned Van Alstyne accompanies him and, when the two men approach the Trenors’ house, they see Lily walk out and leave Gus behind.

Selden himself had never been aware of any change in their relation. Hefound Gerty as he had left her, simple, undemanding and devoted, but witha quickened intelligence of the heart which he recognized without seekingto explain it. Miss Bart accepted the cup of tea, but put back the cushion with animpatient hand. Once more the leisure world was intransition between country and town, and Fifth Avenue, still deserted atthe week-end, showed from Monday to Friday a broadening stream ofcarriages between house-fronts gradually restored to consciousness. The words, and the movement which accompanied them, combined to startleLily out of the state of tranced subservience into which she hadinsensibly slipped.