How does Wharton link the theme of society and class to the theme of marriage? Discuss with close reference to Book One of ‘The House of Mirth’ by Edith Wharton
Marriage is the duty and end-game for 29-year-old, strikingly beautiful Lily Bart in ‘The House of Mirth’, a woman socializing with the socially elite in New York in the late 1800s. Lily struggles with the novel's central conflict- to marry for love, or to marry for financial stability? At a time when women were expected to live off their husbands, it appears as though many of the women at the time married for money. The married couples featured in the novel certainly fit this mold, and the married characters fall into rather bland gender roles. The men earn the money on Wall Street, and the women ensure that their families were kept amongst the upper crust of society.
‘The Awakening’ is also a novel that took place in the late 1800's when women's liberation was never heard of. In this era, women were supposed to find happiness in serving their husbands and taking care of the children. There were no other options within the restrictive boundaries of marriage, and divorce was never an alternative. Women's lives were austere and most accepted this but Edna did not. She believed that life was about more than just doing what was expected of her and she wanted time for herself. The theme of marriage in Edith Wharton’s ‘The House of Mirth’ and Kate Chopin’s ‘The Awakening’ is closely related to theme of society and class in the way that the main reasons for marriage in the novels aren’t for love but for gaining financial stability or to climb the social ladder. The theme of society and class in ‘The House of Mirth’ went hand in hand with the theme of marriage in the novel. In the 1800s, it was very important for women to marry early, to respectable men who were in the same or a higher social class as them. In chapter 5 of The House of Mirth, Lily Bart ‘set up a rapid comparison between Lawrence Selden and Mr Gryce’. Lily is a 29-year-old woman looking for a husband who can support and provide for her financially. In the novel, marriage isn’t about love or
‘The Awakening’ is also a novel that took place in the late 1800's when women's liberation was never heard of. In this era, women were supposed to find happiness in serving their husbands and taking care of the children. There were no other options within the restrictive boundaries of marriage, and divorce was never an alternative. Women's lives were austere and most accepted this but Edna did not. She believed that life was about more than just doing what was expected of her and she wanted time for herself. The theme of marriage in Edith Wharton’s ‘The House of Mirth’ and Kate Chopin’s ‘The Awakening’ is closely related to theme of society and class in the way that the main reasons for marriage in the novels aren’t for love but for gaining financial stability or to climb the social ladder. The theme of society and class in ‘The House of Mirth’ went hand in hand with the theme of marriage in the novel. In the 1800s, it was very important for women to marry early, to respectable men who were in the same or a higher social class as them. In chapter 5 of The House of Mirth, Lily Bart ‘set up a rapid comparison between Lawrence Selden and Mr Gryce’. Lily is a 29-year-old woman looking for a husband who can support and provide for her financially. In the novel, marriage isn’t about love or