re-thinking Lily's suicide

Re-reading the scene of Lily's death I'm starting to think that maybe it wasn't a suicide after all. Although she doesn't seem to care too much about the risk, this is more of an act of neglect and apathy then a decision to commit suicide.

"She knew she took a slight risk in doing so; she remembered the chemist's warning. If sleep came at all, it might be a sleep without waking. But that was but one chance in a hundred : the action of the drug was incalculable, and the addition of a few drops to the regular dose would probably do no more than procure for her the rest she so desperately needed. "

Then the narrator speaks more as an outside analyzer of Lily: "She did not, in truth consider the question very closely; the physical craving for sleep was her only sustained sensation. Her mind shrank from the glare of thought..."

House of Mirth

I was thinking about the title and why it was named House of Mirth. The title comes from Ecclesiastes 7:4 "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." I found a bunch of other versions of the same quote (from different bibles)

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets.

King James Bible
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.


Then to give it context I looked up 7:3 and 7:5

Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy

Ecclesiastes 7:5

It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools

Marx and Wharton

The society that Wharton describes in The House of Mirth is the type of society that Marx is reacting to. Lily lived in a world of Commodity-Fetishism. Lily's world is capitalism at its worst.

Edith Wharton

I looked up Edith Wharton on wikepedia, and although I knew she was born into a wealthy family I found interesting how involved she was in high society. She was friends with many famous and powerful people and she was an influential "taste-maker" of her time.

Money Beats Soul

Thinking about the moral of the story made me think of a song:

Money Beats Soul
-The Doors

There are two paths a man can go
One leads to money, and the other leads to soul
Money beats soul,
Money beats soul every-time
Hard fact of life boy,
but money beats your soul every-time

and the moral of the story is.....

I think that the moral of the story is not a very positive one. I think that while it may be critiquing the high society of the time, I think the overall message is one of despair. I feel as if it is saying that society is a poison, but the rehab can kill you. Sort of like how with extreme alcoholism, rehab is potentially fatal. Also I think it is saying that if you grow up in that world, that it becomes a part of you and affects your character and principles so you can never really get away from it. I mean, Lily got out and had a chance to leave it behind and she killed herself. What does that say?

Lily's Suicide

I think that Lily intended to kill herself. I think the discussion/debate we had in class was very interesting because it brought up a lot of things I hadn't thought of, but it wound up strengthening the position I had. I think that Lily lost control of herself and her life and her suicide was partially giving up, but partially an attempt to regain control. Her death was the one thing that she could control.

more Gandhi...

When I was writing my paper (on gandhi and nietzsche) I started skimming through gandhi and I found a part devoted to sex and I figured it was worth commenting on because he is famous for those opinions. He pretty much claims that sex is common and low and people should show restraint. He says that if love is pure then sex is unnecessary and to be avoided. He uses the example of his own marriage and says that although he used to lust after his wife, and she was hesitant and showed resistance but was willing, he learned to control himself completely.

He makes sex analogous to chocolate. He reasons that people eat chocolate, become unhealthy, and ask the doctor for a cure when they should just not eat chocolate. I think he's making big, and unwarranted leap. First off, with that analogy couldn't he just advocate moderation? Secondly, I think he's way off base when he lumps all pleasureful activities into one pile. His argument is so single-minded on the subject of sex that it barely deserves a counter-argument. The only thing that saves him at all is the fact that he admits that there is an argument for the spirituality of sexual union. However, the whole premise of his argument against sex (non-procreational) is closed-minded.