The House of Mirth: Book I, Chapters I and II

Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth begins by dropping the reader into the aristocratic lifestyle of  Miss Lily Bart. Interacting with acquaintances she runs into, Miss Bart has to preserve her image through perfectly devised lies and false facts. Through these lies, the reader capture a sense of what the society of the 17th century expected of women. First Miss Bart shows the reader a little glimpse society while she is conversing with an old friend, Mr. Selden, about marriage when she claims, "'A girl must, a man may if he chooses'" (Wharton, 8). When Miss Bart declared this belief of society, she is able to convey to the reader that women were expected to make decisions that may not have been in their best interest. Later in this section, Miss Bart begins her web of lies when she has a brief dialogue with Mr. Rosedale. Instead of being truthful with Mr. Rosedale, she invents a lie of why she is in the Benedick. Although this lie ends up causing her to look worse, the reader may observe that Miss Bart created this lie in order to keep her reputation in public affairs. Finally, at the very end of the section Miss Bart acts as though she has never smoked before in order to gain favor with Mr. Gryce, whom she wishes to marry. She is so consumed with how she is viewed by her peers that she lacks the ability to even be honest with the man she hopes to be someday be wed. Through the comments and distortion of truth in this first section, Wharton shows the reader that society is obsessed with social status and acceptance.