Lily Bart, the heroine of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, is considered from chapter 1 to be a woman of notable beauty. Throughout the novel she is classified as particularly attractive, a woman desired by men and subtly threatening to women. But beauty isn't the only way Miss Bart distinguishes herself from the other characters in House of Merry: Wharton repeatedly paints her as an object (or, if he doesn't explicitly objectify her, Wharton has others treat Lily Bart as an object) . This tactic suggests numerous things about Wharton's protagonist: Above all, it accentuates the degree to which, as the reader realizes at the novel's poignant end, Lily Bart is a character trapped in a world that obeys the rules of naturalism almost cruelly. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It cannot be said for sure, however, that the book's naturalistic tone manifests itself cruelly for Lily and Selden. The very definition of naturalism absolves it of the kind of value judgment that a word like "cruel" imparts. Like Darwinism that gave rise to the notion of naturalistic laws at play in society (and also the books that carefully examine and address such laws), naturalism is based on the concept of larger machinations (in scope but not in value) that drive events blindly. and people towards an unseen and unseen end. Naturalism amplifies the level to which characters lose control of their lives, but at the same time denies the existence of any conscious "controller." One might point to Bertha Dorset or Mrs. Peniston as individuals who knowingly manipulated Lily's life, but true naturalism would hold that their actions are as natural, and in some sense, excusable, as anyone else's. These are characters who act a certain way because of the environment or niche in which they exist: it is clear that some people are manipulative and others are manipulated, but neither of these roles is chosen more consciously than the other. The environment makes them who they are. This is what makes the representation of Lily as an object such a useful tool for Wharton. Over the course of The House of Mirth Lily Bart is the victim of twists and turns that come her way that are impossible (or simply very difficult) for her to predict or change. Lily is, as Selden observes on page 6, "evidently the victim of the civilization that produced her." Lily even thinks to herself that she "had a fatalistic sense of being dragged from one wrong turn to another" (134), as if she were always at least one step behind the people or events that have the most critical impact on her life. . But Lily's awareness never strays a step or two away: she never even has a chance to catch up with the mechanisms that influence her life. She makes no effort to get back on her feet after each setback, but is tossed about rootlessly, more like an object than an active human being. When Bertha Dorset frames her, she takes it without a fight. He does the same when Mrs. Peniston's will is announced and the property is not put into her possession. Only when the book draws to a close does Lily take control of her life by burning Bertha Dorset's letters to Selden, repaying her debt to Gus Trenor and taking an overdose of sleeping pills. In the first chapter, Selden asks Lily, "'Isn't marriage your calling? Isn't that what you're all brought up for?'" Lily replies, "'I suppose so?'" (8) Even from the beginning , Lily and the reader are aware that they are stuck on a path thatshe herself does not prefer. But equally significant is the fact that Lily does little to actively explore other paths for her life. His commitment to charitable work is the result of Gerty Farish's encouragement. Otherwise, simply skirt the "marriageable woman" path. Accept invitations to Bellomont and similar engagements. Later, when her star falls, she continues to accept invitations extended to her, for example to Alaska, even though the circle in which she travels and the trajectory of her life have changed. But these are just vague examples of Lily's withdrawal. as an object. How is this different from her simply being a passive person? For one thing, even a passive person meditates on each of the conditions that pull him in various directions when these conditions arise. Lily succumbs to them and allows them to drag her in the direction they choose, but she never seems to dig her heels into the ground and stop to think. Selden, who thinks he is "as much a victim of his environment as Lily" (160), can be classified as a passive person who never quite reaches the level of passivity that objectification would suggest. They struggle more with the rules of their social scene that keep them apart. He also notes, as cited above, the fact that he and Lily both suffer from their environments, a realization Lily only comes to at the end. She feels "rootless and ephemeral" (338), a "flower grown for display" (336), but only on her last night of life. At the beginning of the novel, in fact, in the rare cases in which she considers her relationship with the external environment, she mistakenly feels as if she were a sort of master of it. On page 20 and again on page 101 he emphasizes that he has a special talent for "taking advantage of the unexpected." This comes after several missteps, including the clumsy way she handled Rosedale's request outside of the Benedick and her misplaying of her chances of marrying Percy Gryce. It is appropriate in light of the fact that Lily Bart is, for much of the novel, so unaware of how little she has control of her own life, so much so that Wharton chose to write the novel in the third person. Given such a clear protagonist, it would seem a natural option to choose first person, placing the perspective in Lily's eyes or through the eyes of a peripheral character. But both options are inadequate for the subtleties of Lily Bart. The third person allows Wharton to write a long novel about a character who does little internal meditation on the events of the narrative. However, establishing a peripheral narrator would also be a bad choice because it precludes the actual possibility of commenting on the protagonist's inner thoughts. The third person is perfect precisely because it is possible and even expected that Wharton "controls" Lily's reflections on events, but blatantly chooses not to. The story lacks much exploration of Lily's mind and accomplishes Wharton's intended task of objectifying her main character. Selden is offered a contrast to Lily in that he is treated the other way Wharton might have dealt with Lily in a third film. person's narrative. Given how little he appears in the novel, his thoughts are shared with the reader relatively frequently. Selden's thoughts about Lily are revealed in the first chapter, not the other way around. At the Wellington Brys event, Selden's adoration of Lily's beauty in the tableaux forms the central reflection in the chapter: Lily's personal opinion of the event is completely left out (except, perhaps, in the rare fragments she shares through the dialogue). In the tableaux vivant chapter more than any other, the reader is shown how effectively Lily Bart is defined as an object.