Picking out a topic for a blog post can be challenging, and often I don’t know what to write about until I’m halfway through the reading assignment. This time, however, I knew right from the beginning what I would be discussing: the possible impact that other people’s perceptions have on the expectations and image of Lily Bart.
After writing my midterm essay on the effect of rumors in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that hearsay also plays a large role within The House of Mirth. Within this reading assignment specifically, Lily often finds herself troubled with who she is supposed to be, and how she is supposed to act as a result of the multitude of gossip and things that get said about her. Understandably so, because it seems like everyone in the novel’s setting has talked about her at one point or another. Book I, Chapter XI begins with Miss Stepney telling Mrs. Peniston that “I thought you ought to know what is being said of her,” placing emphasis on what people think of Lily, rather than taking into account the actions that Lily has actually performed herself (131). Mrs. Peniston then goes on to explain to the reader that “It was horrible of a young girl to let herself be talked about” as if Lily had any control over what other people say about her (132-133). Instead of confronting Lily and getting information from a primary source, the characters within the novel all base their facts off of “what so-and-so said,” which is quite problematic when it comes to poor Lily’s reputation.
The issue of hearsay and gossip extends beyond just upsetting Lily’s aunt, however, as her romantic interest, Lawrence Selden, is also influenced by outside representations of Lily. At the party where Lily’s picture is unveiled, for example, Selden is immediately drawn to the portrait of Lily and claims that “Its expression was so vivid that for the first time he seemed to see before him the real Lily Bart,” but how can an image of someone be an accurate representation of who they truly are (139)? Unfortunately for Selden, this precious moment (although somewhat skewed) is cut short, as seen in his irritation with “that damned vulgar party” and the fact that “everybody [was] talking about [Lily]” yet he couldn’t seem to spend a moment with her in person (146). Even though later in the novel, Selden tells himself that “he could separate the woman he knew from the vulgar estimate of her,” he still has his doubts of her intentions and actions when he sees her leaving Mr. Rosedale’s dwelling (155).
The question I have after reading thus far is whether or not the gossip and outwardly perceived opinions of Lily will continue to negatively affect her and her true character/personality. My guess is that things won’t turn out well for Lily, which seems to be the theme with novels about young women in this course… 🙂
I completely agree with your assessment that Lily seems very influenced by perceptions of herself, although she does seem to concern herself about these perceptions more as means to an end as opposed to true intrinsic influences of her character. By this I think I mean, and I may be very wrong, that Lily wants to dress well because, well first she is distasteful of being “piggish,” but also it seems she is more concerned with perceptions because they will influence her social standing and transitively her effectiveness at whatever task she sets herself to within that sphere. This I think is interesting because it removes perceptions and expectations from that deep inner feeling that we all are influenced by and makes them calculated and manageable. I guess I mean that it seems that Lily in many ways is using societal expectations as means to an end, not that that means she is any less influenced by them but she is more self aware of those influences than I think many people are. I also think it is an interesting side note that Gerty manages to operate completely outside these societal norms and seems to do so relatively effectively. The people within Lily’s sphere certainly have perceptions of Gerty and make assumptions and deride her, but as with any time in the history of the world, it strikes me that at a certain point sometimes you have to make the active choice to not care about what certain people care or think. As in, if the people Lily hangs around think less of Gerty then maybe they are not worth Gerty’s time. Of course this becomes more complex when considered through the lens of historical social power dynamics but I think it is an avenue worth examining.
Will
Interesting blog post Autumn! I agree, it is torturous to watch as the other characters of the novel form attitudes about Lily based off of hearsay. However, it is important to note that Lily, too, participates in this hyper-judgmental and superficial realm of ‘high-society’. An area that I focused on in my blog entry was Selden and Lily’s discussion of Gerty Farish. When Selden brings his cousin Gerty up in conversation, Lily immediately jokes that she is not ‘marriageable’ and then criticizes aspects of Gerty’s lifestyle. Reading the novel in this way, it seems Lily is a participant in the very thing which threatens to destroy her — the competitive criticism of other women. One possibility might be to read the novel as Darwinian. The gossip/rumors/blackmail throughout the novel, then, become a form of homosocial competition which could dictate the success of individuals (reproductive or otherwise). A lot of discussions about the novel seem to take this approach, so it’s something to keep in mind in our readings of those moments that you’re focusing on!