The House of Mirth

“He had a confused sense that she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious way, have been sacrificed to produce her.”

One of the novel’s themes is the commodification of people in a social class based on wealth. Lily treats herself, and others view her, as a commodity available to be purchased by a rich man through marriage. Dazzled by her beauty, Selden senses the financial cost involved in maintaining her appearance. The use of the language of manufacturing, “cost a great deal to make” and “sacrificed to produce her,” implies that Lily is an expensive piece of merchandise.

“She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.”

Despite Selden’s cynical assessment of Lily’s maneuverings to marry a wealthy man, he also sympathetically views her as a victim of a society that values materialism over love. Her expensive jewelry, designed to attract a rich husband who can pay for these luxuries, is ironically seen as manacles that hold Lily prisoner to Selden, who operates outside the high society Lily aspires to.

“The provocation in her eyes increased his amusement—he had not supposed she would waste her powder on such small game; but perhaps she was only keeping her hand in; or perhaps a girl of her type had no conversation but of the personal kind.”

Selden knows that Lily is not truly interested in pursuing him for marriage, since he lacks the requisite wealth. However, he notices that she directs her flirtatious charm at him, and he wonders why. Comparing Lily to a hunter and himself to insignificant “small game,” Selden wonders why she would “waste her powder” or personal charm on him, when she is shooting for a larger animal (a rich man).