In Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth, the beautiful but helpless Lily Bart is never able to escape the madness and to the superficialities of the society into which she was born. In. According to a verse from the Ecclesiasticus whose novel was titled: “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of joy. As a result, Lily has the "heart of a fool" due to her actions which continually keep her conforming to society, the "house of cheerfulness". However, his strong morality repeatedly prevents him from making decisions that, while unethical, would certainly result in his promotion and provide a sure way to dominate society. Therefore, although possessing the heart of a fool, Lily's heart is actually one of self-conscious purity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Lily Bart, in essence, is just a sum of the influences of her world, a product of her times. Born in the “house of joy,” her own mother, married not for love but for money, continually urged Lily to use her beauty, a “weapon…of revenge,” as “an opportunity for advancement” ( 32). Not only has Lily's beauty been an integral part of her identity from a young age, but so has the idea that she is her most redeeming quality. Additionally, her beauty is the talk of the town, with many men commenting admiringly on her appearance. Even Lawrence Selden, who would later be recognized as Lily's "soul mate," is the perpetrator of this objectifying behavior. The first sentence of the novel is fittingly where Selden is “refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart” (1). When even the man she's most compatible with treats her like a glass of water on a hot day, it's clear she's not valued for her brains. This association, which connects Lily's perception of self-worth to beauty, has been ingrained in Lily her entire life, making her feel worthless and lost when aging and stress take a toll on her aesthetic. Furthermore, her father, whom Lily “rarely saw in the light of day,” was nothing more than a ghost (27). "Self-effacing and silent", Lily's father was anything but a strong masculine figure and his distant relationship with Lily's mother was an even worse example of an adult relationship. Already born in the "house of fools", Lily, with an unhealthy self-image and a lack of positive role models, knows nothing other than this and, therefore, does not see the need to change. Lily, to her credit, eventually realizes her dismal role in society and her desire to leave it. Nevertheless, Lily explains her inability to break free in an explanation to Gerty: Well, the beginning was in my cradle, I suppose – in the way I was brought up and the things I was taught to take care of. Or no, I won't blame anyone for my faults: I will say that it was in my blood, that I got it from a wicked pleasure-loving grandmother, who reacted against the simple virtues of New Amsterdam and wanted to come back. at the court of the Charles! (216)This self-awareness is Lily's first step in escaping the "house of mirth." Recognizing that she is aware of the wickedness of society, Lily could potentially make changes because she can recognize its hypocrisies and prevent them. Unfortunately, this proves too difficult for her. As Wharton explains, “[Lily's] whole being expands in an atmosphere of luxury; it was the background she needed, the only climate she could breathe” (230). She,.