In Edith Wharton's novel, The House of Mirth, the beautiful but helpless Lily Bart is never able to escape the follies and superficialities of the society in which she was born in. According to a verse of Ecclesiasticus from which the novel took its title: “The heart of the wise man is in the house of mourning; but the hearts of fools are in the house of joy. As a result, Lily has the "heart of a fool" due to her actions continually keeping her compliant with society, the "house of mirth". However, her strong morals repeatedly prevent her from making decisions that, while unethical, would certainly lead to her promotion and are surefire ways to dominate society. As a result, although she possesses the heart of a fool, Lily's heart is actually a self-conscious purity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lily Bart, in essence, is simply a sum of the influences of her world, a product of her time. Born in the "house of mirth," her mother, who married not for love, but for money, continually urged Lily to use her beauty, "a weapon... of vengeance," as "an opportunity for advancement " (32). Not only has Lily's beauty been an integral part of her identity from an early age, but so has the idea that it is her most redeeming quality. Furthermore, her beauty is quite the talk of the town with many men making admiring comments about her looks. Lawrence Selden, who will later be established as Lily's “soulmate,” is also a perpetrator of this objectifying behavior. The opening sentence of the novel is when Selden is “refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart” (1). When even the man she's most compatible with sees her like a glass of water on a hot day, it's clear she's not valued for her brains. This association, which relates Lily's perception of self-worth to beauty, has been ingrained in Lily her entire life, leaving her to feel worthless and lost when aging and stress take a toll on her aesthetic. Furthermore, her father, whom Lily “rarely saw in the light of day,” was nothing more than a ghost (27). “Effaced and silent,” Lily's father was far from a strong male figure and his long-distance relationship with Lily's mother was an even worse example of an adult relationship. Already born in the "house of fools", Lily, with an unhealthy self-image and a lack of positive role models, knows nothing other than this and, as a result, sees no need to change. Lily, to her credit, eventually realizes what a sad role she plays in society and her desire to leave it. Nonetheless Lily explains her inability to free herself in an explanation to Gerty:Well, the beginning was in my crib, I suppose, in the way I was brought up and the things I was taught to take care of. Or no, I will not blame anyone for my shortcomings: I will say that it was in my blood, that I got it from some evil pleasure-loving ancestress, who reacted against the homely virtues of New Amsterdam, and wanted to go back. at the Charles court! (216)This self-awareness is the first step for Lily to escape the “house of mirth”. By recognizing that she is aware of society's evil, Lily could potentially make changes because she can recognize its hypocrisies and prevent them. Unfortunately, this proves too difficult for her. As Wharton explains, “[Lily's] whole being expanded in an atmosphere of luxury; it was the backdrop he needed, the only climate he could breathe” (230). She knows no other way to live and is never ready to leave her comfort zone, the "house of fools". Even after managing to pay off the,.