The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 1

Beauty is an essential feature that all women want to bear as part of their characteristics. It is a feature that our main character, Lily Bart, possesses triumphantly. While the first part of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton unfolds, Lily's beauty is emphasized, revealing to us that her beauty is going to be an important part of the story. "One or two persons, in brushing past them, lingered to look; for Miss Bart was a figure to arrest even the suburban traveller rushing to his last train" (Wharton, 1). Lily was able to attract the attention of many men. Lily also had the internal beauty of being able to speak well and intelligently to others. She had a great way of speaking to others and letting others hear what they wanted. Lily was a beautiful girl that had beautiful manners but these would be ruined with her famish for money and luxury. As we know it, Lily was a poor girl living with her rich aunt. Her parents had lost everything before dying and her desire for money was ugly. She was willing to marry a dull, boring man for wanting to possess his money. Lily would be in great need of someone to help her be a beautiful woman, without her ugly wishes.