Blog 2- Comparison/Contrast of Related Characters

Lily Bart in The House Of Mirth by Edith Wharton, closely resembles her mother, Mrs. Bart. Both have expectations of a luxurious lifestyle and the horridness of that which is dingy. "She hated dinginess, and it was her fate to be dingy," (Wharton, 28). Besides this, Lily's often overpowering pride and self interest, along with her mother's assurance that she could always do better, caused a magnitude of missed opportunities and possible fortunes. "The dinginess of her present life threw into enchanting relief the existence to which she felt herself entitled," (Wharton,27). Though Lily and Mrs. Bart shared some of the same characteristics, Mrs. Bart based her opinions of men on the amount of money they receive. Lily Bart, who, although needy and materialistic seems to expect a man to have more to offer than just a large income. "She would not indeed have cared to marry a man who was merely rich: she was secretly ashamed of her mother's crude passion for money," (Wharton, 27). Despite this dissimilarity, Mrs. Bart and her daughter Lily expect false ideals. Like the saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree (like mother, like daughter)."