The House of Mirth (Blog 2)

By: Edith Wharton



Mrs. Bart, out of fear of a dingy life, strongly
encourages her daughter to marry rich.

 In chapter 3, I became a bit confused when Mr. Bart was home on a Saturday afternoon.  Mrs. Bart was concerned and thought her husband was ill; however, Mr. Bart told his family that he was ruined.  I was very confused as to what he meant by this.  Lily, only 19 years old, did not seem to comprehend what her father was talking about either.  Mrs. Bart told her daughter, "'Your father is not well- he doesn't know what he is saying.  It is nothing- but you had better go upstairs; and don't talk to the servants'" (Wharton, 25).  As I continued to read, I think I was able to understand what Mr. Bart meant about being ruined.  I think he was saying that his reputation as a wealthy man was ruined; the Bart family was known to be rich and could afford extra luxuries.  I think that Mr. Bart was distraught that he could no longer provide his family with the riches they were accustomed to.  I came to this conclusion because Mrs. Bart kept expressing her fear of living a dingy life like a pig.  I thought that this event was especially sad when Mr. Bart passed away and Lily was relieved about it.  It seemed like Lily and her mother were blaming Mr. Bart for their lives heading downhill even after he died.  I felt sympathy for them, but I also found it annoying that neither of them worked to try and earn more money.  They continued to buy themselves nice things, but they didn't do much to try and pick up their financial state.  Also, the lack of mourning over Mr. Bart's death was upsetting to me.  Without him, Lily and Mrs. Bart might not have ever experienced a life like they had.  I think that Mrs. Bart should have began working to show Lily that she truly wanted to help her family after the loss of her husband.  Even when Mrs. Bart died 2 years later, Wharton says that she died in deep disgust.  I find it very sad that she was more disgusted with the lack of wealth she had than the fact that her husband died.