The House of Mirth: Book 1, Chapters 9 and 10

Chapters nine and ten of The House of Mirth, a novel written by Edith Wharton, bring a previously mentioned character, Gerty Farish, back into the picture. Although she is a minor character, in my opinion, Gerty brings a positive attitude and to what is turning out to be a rather depressing book. Although she unmarried, not the prettiest girl out there, and not the richest of the rich, Gerty is the most pleasant, sweet character that I have discovered so far. Although many of the other high society women disregard Gerty and treat her badly, she always acts with grace and kindness when speaking to and of others. It is because of her wonderful personality that the way the other women treat her really bothers me. It is never right to treat someone with disrespect, but is so much worse when the target has done nothing wrong and is not even aware of others’ perceptions of her. Selfish Lily Bart especially angers me with the way she treats Gerty. Lily tolerates Gerty only when she sees it as an opportunity to boost her ego or reputation. When Gerty comes to Lily, depressed that one of her charities was unsuccessful, Lily decides to donate money to the program, only because “she felt that her momentary burst of generosity had justified all previous extravagances, and excused any in which she might subsequently indulge,” (Wharton, 91). While the wealthier women are complaining and moaning about trivial things, Gerty is only ever upset because of something charitable that did not work out. This action just proves her that her true character is one of happiness and love, and it is shameful that the other characters do not respect her for it.