... Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, elements of naturalism are used to show how the protagonist Lily Bart's life is controlled by her struggle between love and money. According to Encarta's electronic encyclopedia, "naturalistic writers regard human behavior as controlled by instinct, emotion, or social and economic conditions." Lily Bart is obviously controlled by economic conditions and emotion. She wants nothing more than to be accepted by the high society of ... love, Selden, she decides not to because he is not a rich man. Throughout the novel, Lily continues to struggle to belong ...

• Word Count: 622
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... have struggled to find their place in a world that is mostly run by men. Literature that provides a window into the lives of women of different time periods should hold some truth in it, especially the literature of the "Realistic" era, but you have a hard time finding really "strong" women. In The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, I was hoping to find those strong women role models ... because they were written by women. I was mostly disappointed because the women I found in these works ... ...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Loneliness is something that many people suffer from. In Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, loneliness is caused by poverty and depression. At the beginning of the novel, Lily Bart is lonely, but has the novel progresses, her situation only worsens. Loneliness is a dominant theme in The House of Mirth. Lily Bart has been lonely all of her life. Her father was always at work and her mother was too worried about maintaining her social position. She ... constantly told Lily that her beauty was the only thing ... , but has no way to repay him causing her to be in a dreadful position. Lily is als...

• Word Count: 836
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School