Edith Wharton
Book II
Just kidding
As the novel comes to a close, I have to say that I am saddened by the outcome of the story line. Lily spent her entire life searching for happiness. Misguided at first to believe that a lavish life was the solution, Lily struggled to realize that Selden made her happy. The two loved each other but resisted to be together. I wonder how Lily's life could have been different had she allowed herself to marry Selden, or any man for that matter.
Here is my breakdown of how the story could have gone.
If Lily had married, she would not have needed to borrow money and therefore join the Dorsets on vacation to escape her debt. If she did not join the Dorsets, then the rumors of her, which stripped her of her social prominence, would not have started, and her aunt would not have disowned her. Lily would have avoided poverty and the need to use the sleep medicine. In essence, Lily could have ended the story alive and well had she married Selden promptly after their walk at the Bellmont. (And everyone would live happily ever after)
Essentially I am just frustrated that Wharton wrote this entire novel where Lily and Selden struggled to maintain a relationship, and she ended it with Lily's death. Honestly that seems like too easy of a solution. Plus, the magic $10,000 check appearing in the mail on the night where she was about to overdose- yeah that was too easy. I find it unfair that Wharton was able to end the novel so easily with Lily's death, but Lily faced a great deal of time where she struggled to end her problems.
In contrast to my disapproval of the storyline, I liked Wharton's writing style. There were a few times when I felt slightly lost in a passage, but overall this novel was easy to read. I enjoyed the dialogue between characters more than the passages of just narration because the dialogue was more engaging to me and therefore easier to understand.
I still have one question. The novel ends with "...and in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear" (Wharton, 268). What is the word? My guess would be love, but a number of possibilities exist. (Any ideas?)
I totally agree with you Kimmy about how Wharton too easily ended the novel and all its problems with Lily's death. She struggled for nearly 240 pages, and Wharton ended her life and solved all her problems in the last 25 or so. It's almost as if she got tired of writing disappointment after disappointment and just ended everything in the last chapter. And as to the last line of the book, I thought "love" too, but I'm still not sure.
ReplyDelete