Essay On Morality In Edith Wharton's The House Of Mirth

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, a young and beautiful New York socialite, who is struggling with the negative pressures of upper-class New York society. The novel follows her two-year struggle to remain in upper-class New York society due to their lack of morals and responsibility. Upper-class New York society is polluted by selfishness, greed, infidelity, and lies. Lily tries to maintain and follow the rules of upper-class New York society. However, she is unable to do this because it would cause her to go against her own moral standing.
While Lily is a part of this society it is obvious from the beginning that she is different from the other members of this society. “Most see her as a heroic figure who is morally superior to the society whose victim she becomes” (Tyson). On the outside she is what the society would want, a woman who is beautiful, intelligent, however, her financial situation and her morality prevent her from immersing herself into that type of society. In order to fit into the society that she
“Although Lily’s choice to only use money as a currency for exchange is consistent with her moral principles, her act of rebellion does not gain her any rewards in the social system”(Lelekis). While Lily keeps her morality she knows that by paying Trenor back she is now bankrupt and her reputation is ruined.
Her final attempt at maintaining her morality is when she is confronted by Rosedale, who offers us a way back into the society that she was wrongfully cast out of. Rosedale brings Lily’s attention to the letters she had received by Selden’s housemaid who believed the letters were written by her. That was revealed to be written by Bertha who had an affair with Selden, however, Lily refuses to do this because it would hurt her morality and Selden would be collateral