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."
The House of Mirth
Because of the novel's commercial success, some critics classified it as a genre novel. However, Wharton's pastor, then rector of Trinity Church in Manhattan, wrote to tell her that her novel was "a terrible but just arraignment of the social misconduct which begins in folly and ends in moral and spiritual death."(310) This moral purpose was not lost on the literary reviewers and critics of the time who tended to categorize it as both social satire and a novel of manners. Carol Singley in her Introduction to "Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth: A Case Book" states, "["The House of Mirth"] is a unique blend of romance, realism, and naturalism,[and thus] transcends the narrow classification of a novel of manners." (3)
"The House of Mirth" was Wharton's second published novel and was preceded by two novellas, "The Touchstone" (1900), "Sanctuary" (1903), and one full-length novel, "The Valley of Decision" (1902). Her subsequent important novels are "Ethan Frome" (1911), "The Custom of the Country" (1913), and "The Age of Innocence" (1920) for which she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921. These works influenced a host of American authors for two generations. They include F. Scott Fitzgerald ("The Great Gatsby)", Sinclair Lewis ("Main Street"), John O'Hara ("Appointment in Samarra"), and Louis Auchincloss ("The House of Five Talents").