In The House of Merry by Edith Wharton, money is the most evident and fundamental value held by the characters who populate the author's turn-of-the-century New York. Essentially, money is valuable for one reason only: it provides the means by which those in possession of it can do as they please. But it is valued as such in two distinct ways, by two distinct types of people: those who think about money and those who don't. “I know there's one vulgar thing about money, and that's thinking about it,” Simon Rosedale tells Lily Bart in chapter fifteen of the first book, before adding, “My wife should never belittle herself like that.” Rosedale is one of those people who are in a position where they don't have to think about money; although he has moved up the social ladder and increased his wealth little by little, he is at a point where, financially speaking, he doesn't need to track every last dollar in his bank account. If she wants to wear new clothes or show off new rings on her fingers, she can purchase those items without worrying about the amount being charged to her savings. Lily, on the other hand, cannot afford such luxuries. He tells Gerty Farish in chapter eight of the second book: "I always understand how people can spend much more money, never how they can spend less!" Lily, unlike Rosedale, must constantly be wary of her money. Deeply in debt but equally deeply attracted to high society, she is in the position of having to pay close attention to her ever-dwindling finances; in fact, this situation is the engine that drives the entire novel. But neither Rosedale nor Lily value money as money, as a mere physical object. In this society, money is considered a means to an end: depending on the amount of money held by a particular individual, money has the power to liberate them or bind them to a lifestyle of significantly lower standards. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThese standards are, in themselves, assessed both separately and in conjunction with money. On the one hand, an individual's living standards are representative of how much money an individual has, and the quality of one's standards indicates how rich or poor one can be. But on another level, the standard of living is considered a kind of “passport” to the preferred company. These standards are evaluated, therefore, only by the individual who respects them, and not by any kind of third party, since that individual is the only one who can benefit from his own living standards, which have no influence on anyone else outside of it. themselves. It is this pressure to maintain her high living standards that drives Lily Bart to act as she does, because she fears that if her standards drop (as they eventually do) she will be shunned by the company she is a member of (as she is). Lily doesn't value her standards themselves so much as she appreciates the company they allow her to keep. This, then, is a society driven by appearance. A person's worth is determined by their outward appearance: who they date, who they are married to, the clothes they wear, the places they travel. Notice how other internal qualities such as humor, intellect, or kindness towards strangers are not appreciated by Wharton's characters. By contrast, in chapter thirteen of the second book, Lily recalls how horrified she was to see firsthand Gerty Farish's preference to spend time and money helping poor and unfortunate people - "superfluous fragments of life destined to be dragged prematurely into that life". pile of social rubbish that Lily had recently expressed her fear of." Such qualitiesthey require finding company in people whose appearance is ragged, substandard, low class, perhaps malnourished. On the other hand, Carry Fisher's comments to Lily in the fifth chapter of the second book indicate how the importance of the company one keeps can influence one's decisions: "Though I like the Gormers better, there is more profit for me in [keeping] Brys company,” Fisher says. “The fact is, they want to try Newport this summer, and if I can make it a success for them, they… well, they'll make it a success for me.” Success itself is, in the same way, a value of this society. It is perhaps the most essential value of all, because success is what defines the individuals in the class of which Lily is initially a part. Success can be financial wealth, a strong marriage, a respectable inheritance, or even a lucky streak at gambling. If it were not for their success and the failure of those below them, they would have no basis for indulging in extravagance, nor for their air of superiority. Rather ironically, this concept is explained for us, and for Lily, by Nettie Struther, a member of those lower classes, in chapter thirteen of the second book. “I always thought of you as this person at such a high place, where everything was just great,” Nettie tells Lily. “Sometimes, when I was feeling really bad and starting to wonder why things in the world were so strangely arranged, I remembered that you were having fun anyway, and that seemed to prove that there was some kind of justice somewhere.” It is doubtful whether Lily's contemporaries would have been so kind in their judgments of any of Nettie Struther's lower classes; after all, if money and appearance are what allow them to achieve social status, success is the quality that determines their attitude within that status. This is why success has such a high value: it allows you to behave as you want towards those who have not achieved an equal level of success. By extension, the values ​​of appearance and success are in turn supported by the twin values ​​of etiquette and courtesy; etiquette is the rules established by the social class of which Lily is a part, and courtesy are certain acts of kindness, which are not necessarily bound by those rules, imposed by those who are also part of that class. Consider, as an example of how the value of appearances depends on the value of courtesy, the twelfth chapter of the first book, in which Gerty Farish unleashes her invitation to a party: "Wasn't it dear to Lily to get me an invitation?" he exclaims. We realize that the otherwise isolated Gerty would not have been able to raise the level of her social appearances if it were not for the courtesy (rather than any kind of obligation) offered to her by Lily. Let us now consider, as an example of how the value of appearances depends on etiquette, the third chapter of the second book, in which Lily tries to 'save face' by forcing conversation between herself and a cold Bertha Dorset: "As she tried to feed the faint glimmer of speech, to reconstruct, again and again, the crumbling structure of "appearances", his very attention was perpetually distracted by the question: "What the hell is this going for?" There was something decidedly maddening about the defiance Bertha's isolate." Even simple conversation is not implemented by this society as an act of luxury, nor even as simple communication, but as a necessity required by the rules established by that society; those rules of etiquette dictate that, in terms of appearance, something as simple as silence can be deadly. The flip side of the subtleties of etiquette and courtesy is the value of firm, but at some level integral stoicismthese two qualities too. As with personal living standards, citizens of this society do not value stoicism per se; however, what it offers them is of the utmost importance. Scandal is also extremely valuable, as it is the product of actions that break etiquette or defy courtesy; in turn, it results in gossip and hearsay, both particularly valuable commodities, as evidenced by Mrs. Peniston's penchant for keeping a record of every attendee at every party she's ever been to (in book one, chapter nine). Likewise, the ability to remain stoic in the face of a broken label, to put on a facade so as not to betray one's true emotions, is extremely valuable in averting scandal. Stoicism, therefore, is valued by those individuals who might attract gossip and scandal, while scandal itself is valued by those who wish to break through the stoicism of such individuals: scandal is valued as a weapon, while stoicism is valued as a defense. , stoicism runs rampant throughout the novel, particularly on Lawrence Selden's part, but it's only when the characters break free of it that we realize how much it was a part of their lives. Consider Lily's encounter with Rosedale in chapter eleven of the second book. After countless arguments in which each of them has hidden behind a veil of stoic politeness, or politeness, or even wit and sometimes wild words, each of them finally allows that barrier to collapse. "[Lily] had indeed never seen [Rosedale] shaken from her usual ease, and there was something almost touching about her in her inarticulate struggle with her emotions," while, moments later, "Lily's blush it intensified into a glow in which humiliation and gratitude mingled, and both feelings revealed themselves in the unexpected kindness of his response." Ironically, this discussion between Lily and Rosedale has the effect of "gradually breaking down her dislike of Rosedale. The dislike, in fact, still existed, but was penetrated here and there by the perception of attenuating qualities in him: a certain coarse kindness, of a rather helpless loyalty of feeling, which seemed to struggle against the hard surface of his material ambitions." The irony here is that the value of Stoicism is meant to uphold the value of manners and etiquette, yet it is only through the collapse of Stoicism that Lily and Rosedale are able to penetrate the facade and achieve a quality that exists. on an entirely deeper level of value: honesty. Of course, if the citizens of this society were caught red-handed lying it would only be a scandal, but in the same way they are forced to lie every day, bound once again to the rules and values ​​of etiquette and courtesy: it is easier to lie to a opponent than suffer the consequences of offending him. In a society where honesty is considered a value only if it is complementary, there is a certain poetic justice in the truly honest emotional communication that emerges between Lily and Rosedale only after they free themselves from such rules of etiquette. can we say about the ultimate value held by this company? This is, of course, about security: physical, financial, spiritual, social, emotional. Take a carriage, do not walk the streets at night; not sure. Ensure your financial security before indulging in extravagance. Go to church, even if it is for social rather than religious reasons; you have to show up. Accept all invitations to parties, meetings and holidays; it will consolidate your presence in social circles. Marry for security, not for love; love can't save you if you start to fall. The citizens of this society exist in a world where they don't want anything to change; fall from grace.