The Bestselling Novel: Currents in American History and Culture

The friend Lily never had

Nettie Struther, the working woman Lily remembers in her final chapters of life, is an example of the ways Lily’s perception has changed over time. In the past, Nettie Struther had been a victim of overwork and anemic parentage which surely places her in the “social refuse-heap” (p.313).  Nettie Struther’s life story is the reverse of Lily Bart’s, where Nettie lives and comes out of the refuse-heap whereas Lily is swept into the mass of the refuse-heap. 

As Nettie repeatedly admits, Lily did her a favor and saved her, Lily was the savior to Nettie that she never had for herself. Lily was a "friend". Whereas Lily admits to Selden that 

"You don't know how much [she] need[s] such a friend, [...] the other women- [her] best friends- well, they use [her] or abuse [her]; but they don't care a straw what happens to [her]" (Wharton 9)


The women Lily called "best friend" when applied to her situations seems ironic because "friends" in Lily's life barely hold any meaning. The women Lily called "friends" did rightfully use/abuse her and eventually lead to her doom.Knowing "nobody cares" and yet calling them friends may be a subtle implication that "friends" and a little care may, after all, be what Lily craves for. The care Lily shows to Nettie at her (Nettie's) breaking point in life is what Lily in turn needed in her life. The interaction with Nettie and her baby is what Lily remembers in her final moments; thus, a friendly gesture of care might really have saved Lily from her doom. 


Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. Penguin Classics, 1986.
 

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