Problem
From what you've read so far, how does Lily Bart from The House of Mirth compare to Edna Pontellier from The Awakening? What characteristics do they share? How do they differ? 2. Read the following scene from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton:
"Oh, I know-you mean Gertie Farish." She smiled a little unkindly. "But I said marriageable-and besides, she has a horrid little place, and no maid, and such queer things to eat. Her cook does the washing and the food tastes of soap. I should hate that, you know"
"You shouldn't dine with her on wash-days," said Selden, cutting the cake.
They both laughed, and he knelt by the table to light the lamp under the kettle, while she measured out the tea into a little tea-pot of green glaze. As he watched her hand, polished as a bit of old ivory, with its slender pink nails, and the sapphire bracelet slipping over her wrist, he was struck with the irony of suggesting to her such a life as his cousin Gertrude Farish had chosen. She was so evidently the victim of a civilization which had produced her that the links of her bracelets seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate. (5-6)
Answer the following question:
In this scene, Lily and Selden discuss the possibilities for women in society. Why does Selden view Lily living in a flat on her own as absurd? Why does Lily describe Gertrude Farish's life in this way? What does this scene reveal about Lily's social situation and that of women during the late 19th & early 20th century?