Naturalism In The House Of Mirth By Edith Wharton

Naturalism includes a more realistic approach to literary texts. Naturalism identifies the underlying causes of a character’s actions or beliefs. the reason for this is that naturalism looks at life in a way where our environment has such a big influence on us that it makes us its victims. Edith Wharton novel ‘The house of Mirth’ for instance, Lilly Bart the protagonist character in the novel is example of such a victim. She comes from an environment of glitz and glamour, however just because she is from a well off background does not mean that things are easy for her. This novel focuses on the way in which Lilly’s social environment inevitably brings her to a tragic fate. Lily was brought up to see herself as an object of a wealthy and powerful
men desires. Her social environment has taught her that her only salvation is her beauty. Lily is aware that her looks will gain her a wealthy men which is nothing more than exchanging sex for luxury and the “beauty is of the raw material of conquest.” However, Lilly rebels against it and doesn’t have any intention to become and object. So when Lily gets the chance to marry a wealthy man named Percy Gryce who could give her luxury, Selden (the man who she loves) becomes the reason why she rejects Percy by describing him as being boring “She had been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce”. Thus she loses the chance to marry a wealthy man yet refuses to marry Selden because he isn’t wealthy, this irony is part of the reason of her tragic fate. The novel is considered a great naturalist novel because it includes the basic element of naturalist movement. through the character of lily and even the situation she encounters, the novel touches upon the basic element of naturalism for example, the way negative forces of environment have a significant factor to an individual’s fate and the social Darwinism upon society. these are some factors that show that Lily appears as a naturalist character. Blake Nevuis argues that Lily is “as completely and typically the product of her heredity, environment, and the historical moment ... as the protagonist of any recognized naturalistic novel"

another example of naturalism in the novel is the way the rough aspect of life is shown.
Naturalism shows how unfair life can be. these are the reason why characters such as Bertha Dorset who is an unpleasant backstabbing individual doesn’t have the same troubles as Lilly and is able to enjoy life as she pleases “Did you ever see such jewels? Do look at Mrs. George Dorset's pearls — I suppose the smallest of them would pay the rent of our Girls' Club for a year”. She is a great example of the Gilded age society. she has no problem manipulating and making herself superior to others because of her wealth. She shows no remorse or sympathy of her actions when she falsely accuses Lily for committing adultery and having an affair with her husband when in reality she is the one who is committing adultery. This is when Lily’s downfall starts, her uncle upon finding her ruined reputation and bad gambling disinherits her and she is forced to work with people who were once inferior to
her. “I have tried hard—but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else. What can one do when one finds that one only fits into one hole?”. Lily’s way of upbringing and what she was taught causes her feel that she unable to make choices that oppose the way her society lives. She was conditioned to believe that her purpose is to become a wife and because of this mindset, is the reason why she believes that she has no skills to help her survive. Through her unfortunate influence of her environment she became useless for any other way of life, yet she has become a victim to the cruel world of the upper class where individuals are driven by power and materialistic things. Lily’s value and integrity is the reason why she is unable to just marry for money, however she sees no other way to fulfil her need of security and luxury. Her environment has influenced her to live a life of luxury and wealth and without those resources you’re not worth anything. These two opposing principles of following her integrity and living a life of luxury is again what leads her to her tragic fate. Maggie: A girl of the streets by Stephen Crane could also be categories as a naturalist novel.
Crane’s novel does not focus on the individual free will and character but the underlining issue which comes from heredity and social circumstances. Time and again the reader is shown how Maggie struggles to overcome her social circumstances. She struggles to escape poverty but in each determination, it appears that the Darwinian fight between her and the environment she lives in becomes an impossible force to tackle. This eventually forces her to become a victim of her circumstances and we witness her tragic fate. In the novel Cranes shows the idea of naturalist that when an individual is born to unprivileged parents, societal biological factors this inevitably will make their entire life
unprivileged. Even the titles of the novel ‘A Girl of the Street’ suggests the lack of individualism; this novel could be based on any girl. This is because Maggie and the people in her society are trapped by these underlying forces that determines their outcome, they lack the ability act freely and be independent. the struggles we see Maggie face whilst trying to escape her environment is because she was not thinking independently. if she had, she would be able to adapt in her harsh environment or found a way to escape instead of committing suicide.

“The building quivered and creaked from the weight of humanity stamping about in its bowels” this quote emphasizes the importance of environmental and heredity influences on an a character. it describes the over populated community, buildings are covered with filth and odd smells fill the air. the reference to “bowels” suggest that this is as bad as it gets. it is seen as a world of chaos and disorder, where humans continuing with their disturbed behavior and despicable language of the lower class. The description that Crane uses to describe the world Maggie lives in as “dark”, hidden with “yellow dust” suggest the tragic state that Maggie tries to but fails to escape.