Pride

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

Throughout the novel, Lily has faced the conflict of choosing between freedom and conformity. I believe that her troubles of deciding which to choose stems from her pride. 

Pride is a great characteristic in a person, but it can and often does inhibit a persons ability to make the choice that is truly best. In this novel, Lily grew up in an upper class society filled with lavish riches. To Lily, living in any less frivolous way would be shameful. This is why she holds reservations about marrying Selden. He simply is not rich enough to uphold her standards and therefore her pride. 


In slight contrast to this, Lily swallowed her pride by asking for a loan from her friend Mr. Trenor. This must have been a very difficult task for Lily because the basis of her pride was her wealth, so admitting the financial strain she faced was admitting the bruising of her pride. 

(fyi. The next part is kinda vague because I don't want to spoil the movie for all the other Disney fans)


This talk of pride reminds me of the Disney movie Brave. In this movie, the young headstrong princess Merida attempts to change her fate of marrying the eldest son from one of the other clans. Her story intertwines with one of the old legends, where pride split the kingdom and led to its demise. Merida learns from this legend and attempts to correct her mistakes by reconciling with her mother. Only by swallowing her pride could she solve the problems her pride had created.

It is my hope in The House of Mirth that Lily can look beyond her pride to make the best decisions just as Merida did in the movie Brave.