Lily Bart in The House of Mirth. A Swamp-hatched Butterfly
Autor
Quawas, RidaFecha
2002Resumen
En su novela The House of Mirth Edith Wharton expone y a la vez acusa a la sociedad del
papel represor y distorsionador que ejerce con respecto a la sexualidad, especialmente la
femenina. La heroína de la novela, Lily Bart, aparece como un producto de consumo, un
artefacto al que se le da un valor, se le etiqueta y vende al mejor postor. Sin embargo, su rol
es luchar contra esa comercialización y conseguir la dignidad personal. De este modo, su
desafío a la hipocresía moral de la clase social a la que pertenece la convierte en un adalid de
la nueva mujer. Incluso su suicidio final no se debe considerar una derrota patética, sino
como una opción consciente que simboliza la victoria del autoconocimiento y de la
autenticidad con el fin de llegar a ser ella misma. In The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton exposes and indicts society’s suppression and distortion
of sexuality, especially female sexuality. Lily Bart, the female hero of the novel, is viewed
as a commodity, an artifact that is to be evaluated, ticketed, and sold to the highest bidder.
However, Lily refuses to barter her body for security. She fights against her society’s false
claims and struggles for her dignity. In every crisis, Lily resists the moral hypocrisy that
defines her genteel class, and it is her rebellion against her stultifying, inimical world that
makes her an unconventional figure, the true embodiment of the New Woman. Her suicide
is not a pathetic defeat but a conscious choice reached through her achievement of selfawareness.
Her death symbolizes a victory of self-knowledge and authenticity as she becomes
herself.