In the novel The House of Mirth, the protagonist, Lily Bart is trapped in a world filled with materialism, shallowness and hatred. In the high society of New York, the only way to be accepted is to have money, and lots of it. In Lily's case, she needs money in order to buy the life in which she was raised. However, the means to attain that money are limited. Unfortunately, Lily has not been trained …showed first 75 words of 2242 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2242 total…from poverty, from ease and anxiety,! from all the material accident. To keep a kind of republic of the spirit - that's what I call success" (Wharton, 70). If only Lily had listened to what Selden told her about what life is all about, maybe she could have seen that life isn't just about being rich. It is about being happy with yourself, following your heart and dreams, and knowing who you really are. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**