The House of Mirth
The central theme of "The House of Mirth" is essentially "the struggle between who we are and what society tells us we should be". Thus, it is considered by many to be as relevant today as it was in 1905. If its sole subject had been the excesses and lives of the rich and famous, by themselves, it is doubtful it would have remained popular for as long as it has. "The House of Mirth" continues to attract readers over a century after its first publication, possibly due to its timeless theme. That the life and death of Lily Bart matters to modern readers suggests that Wharton succeeded in her purpose: to critique "a society so relentlessly materialistic and self-serving that it casually destroys what is most beautiful and blameless within it."
Jazzy and the Pussycats
In order to raise money for the operation he needs, Bart organizes a benefit concert. Meanwhile, Lisa is informed that her animals will be taken to a pound and killed if she cannot find a suitable home for them. The benefit is a success, and Bart feels empathy for Lisa and decides to use the money to build a home for the animals. The other musicians begin to discuss the idea of holding another benefit to repair Bart's arm.In its original run, the episode received 8.94 million viewers. Dan Iverson of IGN quotes that like the previous episode, it was decent, and praised the strength of the eighteenth season so far. He called the White Stripes' cameo funny, and called the episode entirely random, starting off with the death of Homer's Vegas wife Amber. He gives the episode a final rating of 7/10, similar to the previous episode. In 2007, Simon Crerar of "The Times" listed The White Stripes' performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. Andrew Martin of "Prefix Mag" named The White Stripes his seventh favorite musical guests on "The Simpsons" out of a list of ten. Corey Deiterman of the "Houston Press" listed them as number four of the top five worst musical guests in "Simpsons" history.