Practical Criticism on "The House of Mirth"

The purpose of the extract is to focus mainly on the relationship between Selden, and Lily Bart. Here, we see that Selden, unexpectedly, meets with Lily Bart in a train station, and from the start, it is obvious that he is attracted to her, by the fact that his “eyes had been refreshed by the sight of [her]”. In the “afternoon rush” of the station, this is a very colorful contrast as opposed to the hustle and bustle of the station. Right from the start, we see that Selden is a person who is, by nature, someone very logical, and who carefully analyses his situation. This is justified by the poem being written in a third person point of view, from Selden; therefore, we as the readers are able to relate to Selden’s feelings and thoughts and see what he is experiencing. From this, it can be deduced that Selden is a logical person by the use of diction in the passage, in the words “inferred”, “plan”, “argument from design”, and through the use of repeated rhetorical questions within the extract, to show how his train of thinking leads him on to further deductions. Furthermore, he is a man of highly observant powers, represented by the descriptive, lyrical nature in which the extract is written in. When he sees Miss Lily Bart, he describes her “vivid head, relieved against the dull tints of the crowd”, something which others might not notice. In addition to that, Selden could also be said to be slightly pretentious in nature, by “respond[ing] joyfully that to [rescue Miss Lily Bart] was his mission in life”, and by “declaring himself entirely at [Miss Lily Bart’s] disposal”, which are extremely formal and overbearing declarations, and which could hint slightly at Selden trying to maintain his distance from her while, at the same time, trying to “be drawn, for a moment, into… sudden intimacy”. In addition to this, confidence, perhaps even arrogance, is expressed as we see how Selden is able to interpret every step of Miss Lily Bart’s actions as something more significant than what she seems to be showing, and due to his repeated questions as he thinks, it is almost as if he priding himself on his ability to outwit Miss Lily Bart and see her actions for what they really are. There is almost joy in the knowledge that “she would contrive to elude him” if “she did not wish to be seen”, and this little game amuses him. Again, although he is arrogant in thinking that his “course lay so far out of [Miss Lily Bart‘s] orbit”, he observes her physical beauty, her “little ear, the crips upward wave of her hair… and the thick planting of her straight black lashes” with an almost lustful pleasure, and yet maintaining a detached view, as much as he can. We may also note that Miss Lily Bart has an almost gripping effect on Selden; we see that Selden’s first reaction to seeing her is to “pause in surprise”, almost as if her presence has shocked him, and that he has the time for a “cup of tea” with her even though his work is fairly urgent in nature, prompting him to rush back from a “hurried dip” into the country”. Also, this is prompted by the repetition of words like “arrested”, “impulse” and “struck”, words which are very forceful and which imply that Selden cannot resist Miss Lily Bart’s charm.

On the other hand, although he is attracted to her, he cannot have a intimate relationship with her because he suspects Miss Lily Bart of having “far-reaching intentions” instead of her “[simple] acts”. This is fortified by Selden’s viewing of the “herd of [the female] sex” as extremely “dull and ugly” in contrast to Miss Lily Bart, and the “crudity of this average section of womanhood”. Almost portraying Selden as a chauvinist, it is clear that he thinks he deserves Miss Lily Bart because she stands out as “strong and fine”, compared to the “sallow-faced girls with preposterous hats, and flat-chested women struggling with paper bundles and palm-leaf fans”; it is almost as if he deserves her, because she represents the best as the leader of the female gender. Even though it is so, Selden still feels that the “fine glaze of beauty” of Miss Lily Bart is still temporal in nature, and mostly exterior, in stark contrast to the “vulgar clay” she is made of, are, Selden feels, are other women. However, he also questions whether a “coarse texture will… take a high finish”, assuming that because Miss Lily Bart is beautiful outside, she is perfect within, as she is without, showing that Miss Lily Bart has perhaps bewitched him, and caused him to feel a certain longing towards her, because she is, unlike the rest of her gender, more perfect and more capable than they are.
Miss Lily Bart, on the other hand, is perceived to be a cunning and devious woman in Selden’s eyes, manipulating him through her charm. We should keep in mind that the story is seen through Selden’s eyes, and that there is no definitive evidence to show that Miss Lily Bart is actually using her wiles to manipulate Selden. When Miss Lily Bart is first noticed, Selden perceives her as having “a desultory air”, an air of uncertainty and hesitation. From the fact that it was strange and that it “perplexed” Selden, we can assume that Miss Lily Bart is not one to actually vacillate often, and it again brings us to the point that Miss Lily Bart’s “simplest acts seemed the result of far-reaching intentions”. To Selden, her act of standing out in the crowd, “letting it drift by her”, is as if she is able to withstand the incessant flow of daily life as it rushes past her, and she serves as a foil to Selden, someone who, unlike Selden who must take a “hurried dip into the country” from work, is able to work without rushing here and there. Again, the fact that Selden works in the city, and that she works in predominantly “country-houses” reinforces the idea that Selden’s “course lay… far out of her orbit”. In contrast to Selden’s constant analysis and evaluation of the situation, Miss Lily Bart is seen to react spontaneously, especially when she first meets Selden and exclaims “Mr Selden- what good luck!”. Her off-the-cuff reactions could hint at her character- firstly, that she is a person who is able to talk her way out of situations, and secondly, a person that is able to display her emotions very well, as well as, perhaps, veil her inner feelings effectively with this veneer. By her very nature, she is attractive and “arrest[s] even the suburban traveller rushing to his last train”, and we see that even Selden cannot resist looking at her even though there is “nothing new” about her.
We may also note that Miss Lily Bart possesses a certain amount of coquetry, which we are able to observe, she uses with great skill in weaving Selden into her plans, when she replies as to “what form [Selden’s] rescue was to take”. Here, her pauses in her speech, where she says “almost any- even to sitting on a bench and talking to me. One sits out a cotillion- why not sit out a train? It isn’t hotter here than in Mrs Van Osburgh’s conservatory- and some of the women are not a bit uglier”, shows her pauses for emphasis and effect on Selden, as well as her diction, hinting that she is well educated. It is evident that she tries to project an image of being prosperous, by the fact that she has a “little jeweled watch” and wears “laces”. Also, the fact that she dances often hints at her prosperity, of either being a teacher of dancing to people who are well off, or being a student in dancing, a pastime for the upper echelon of society in 1905, when the extract was written. Accordingly, Miss Lily Bart displays a certain sort of arrogance, in thinking that the girls in Mrs Van Osburgh’s conservatory “are not a bit uglier”, and that her “arrest” of other people’s gazes is probably intentional by her “jeweled watch” and “laces”. Her condescending nature is also exemplified by her note that the patrons in “Sherry’s” were “a lot of bores”, and going on to note that she was as “old as the hills, of course”, which, although might be true, are not evidently what other people think. This under-statement by her could show that she tries to project an image of humility towards Selden, but in doing so, actually reveals the extent of her arrogance. All this serves to portray the fact that she is a work of art, as Selden believes, and that she is very valuable, so valuable that “a great many dull and ugly people must…have been sacrificed to produce her”. Her image of being “at once vigorous and exquisite, at once strong and fine” also serve as opposite ends of a spectrum of desirable qualities, but not entirely oxymorons, and this technique also serves to show how valuable she is compared to the “returning holiday-makers“. Her sophistication also hints that there is more to her than what she seems to be, more than just “vulgar clay”. This may be corroborated with the fact that her “indefatigable dancing” and “eleven years of late hours” were not seen in her “purity of tint” and her “radian[ce]”. Again, we take note that Miss Lily Bart does realise her beauty and charm, in her assumption that Selden was “com[ing] to [her] rescue”, and that everyone else around her is a “bore” or is “uglier”. Therefore, all this could make her actions, as she “glanced plaintively around the station” somewhat planned in nature, even hinting that they were purposeful and deliberate and that she had some hidden intentions not revealed to Selden in the extract. Her view of other women being all less interesting than her also shows that she seems to look at everyone as beneath her, but leaves it to Selden to actually realise this instead of openly telling him her fortes. The description of Miss Lily Bart in the extract therefore shows she is somewhat of an enigmatic character, and serves, again, as a foil to Selden, the logical and practical character that we see him to be.
The extract possesses an underlying motif of colour throughout the extract, and we see that Miss Lily Bart is described as a very colorful, “radiant”, “vivid” person, “relieved against the dull tints of the crowd”. The effect of this is to show a multi-layering of her personality, and that something could be deeper that what lies above on the surface. This motif is used very well to consistently flesh out the theme of appearance versus reality, as well as the use of the environment to show this; alone and in the train station, Selden is faced with monochromatic crowds, while out and alone with Miss Lily Bart, the “rapid shower had cooled the air”, and the environment develops into a somewhat more light-hearted and refreshing one, with Miss Lily Bart around. The extract ends off with us realizing that Selden does not see her as something more than a work of art, and thereby probably underestimating, even though he has already pre-empted, her veiled intentions, through the effective use of an extensive train of thought developed by Selden, and dialogue.