When Money Stays, Friends Do Too
Being born into a once well-off family, Lily, even though she is critical of Bertha Dorset, is forced to live up to those standards to be a part of that society. Meanwhile, Gerty Farish, “being fatally poor and dingy” (89), still manages to live a life at her own discretion. Gerty Farish is thus the character living the “ideal” life of independence that Lily craves for herself. As Lily points out,
"It is not always easy to be quite independent and self-respecting when one is poor and lives among rich people" (Wharton 178).
Lily is thus entrapped in the specific expectations of society and is forced to be the manipulative woman she accuses Bertha to be in order to make herself a part of the society. The struggle of living up to societal expectations in a world which eventually leaves "her out of its calculations” (p.27) costs Lily her self-respect and freedom, in addition to all the money she loses in bridge. All of Lily's struggle however, is in vain, only leading her to be a "doomed victim" of the upper-class society and its shallow perceptions. The loss of her reputation was the first big step to Lily's "doomedness." This loss results in the loss of her so-called "friends" like Bertha Dorset and the others.
Gerty, on the other hand, is portrayed to be free from the entrapment of societal expectations because she flouts the upper-class standards. This allows her to live an independent life in her own free will, though she is never embraced by high society. Sadly, despite being the poor and dingy person Gerty may be, she is the only person who tries to support Lily in any possible way.
The shallowness of the relationship of Lily with the other upper-class members is a contrast to her relationship with Gerty. While Gerty's "dinginess" allows her to stay by Lily at all situations, Bertha and the others are not only lost as soon as Lily loses her reputation but also are contributors to Lily's loss of money and reputation, which eventually leads to the loss of her life. As is depicted in the illustration, the loss of Lily's reputation is set against a background of women talking behind her back--a strong depiction of the way society can pit women against one another.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. Penguin Classics, 1986.
