The House of Mirth: Book 1, Chapters 3 and 4

            Chapters three and four of the novel The House of Mirth, written by Edith Wharton, introduce the reader to the relationship and background behind the main character, Lily Bart, and her mother. After analyzing the each character and their feelings toward each other, I began to notice major similarities between Lily and her mother and Rose DeWitt Bukater and her mother, characters in the film Titanic. In both the film and The House of Mirth, the main character’s father has lost his wealth. To Mrs. Bart, her husband “no longer counted: he had become extinct when he ceased to fulfill his purpose,” (Wharton, 25). Quoted from Titanic, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater exclaimed to her daughter, “Your father left us nothing but a legacy of bad debts hidden by a good name. That name is the only card we have to play.” Having always lived lives of luxury, both Lily’s mother and Rose’s mother are appalled at the idea of having to change their lifestyles. So, in order to remain in the higher social class, both women use their daughter’s eligibility and beauty to try and catch the eye of a wealthy man. Insensitive to their daughters’ wishes, both mothers search for the person who can provide the elegance and extravagance they require. Lily’s beauty became her mother’s ticket into high society, and “she studied it with a kind of passion, as though it were some weapon she had slowly fashioned for her vengeance,” (Wharton, 26). The lack of care or concern for her daughter’s opinion and the objectifying attitude Mrs. Bart appoints to Lily is mirrored in Rose and her mother’s relationship. Mrs. DeWitt Bukater uses Rose’s name to lure in a man, ultimately leaving Rose trapped in a net with a man who only loves her name. Because of the harsh, inconsiderate, and selfish natures of both Mrs. Bart and Mrs. DeWitt Bukater, comparisons can be drawn between the novel and the film.

Titanic. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Paramount, 1997. DVD.