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| Bertha Dorset |
After reading chapters seven and
eight of Edith Wharton’s
The House of
Mirth, I could not help but notice that many of the women who associate
with Lily have an absolute disrespect for marriage and its boundaries. Two
characters who particularly display this attitude are Bertha Dorset and Carry
Fisher. Dorset, a supposedly cruel and heartless woman who enjoys making others
miserable, has had what one could only call an obsession with Lawrence Selden
for a long time, regardless of the fact that she is married. She openly pursues
him in front of her husband, and flirts shamelessly. Furthermore, all of Bertha’s
friends are aware of her obsession and avoid him so as not to interfere with
her. When Bertha gets upset because of Lily’s close bond with Selden and, in revenge,
spreads rumors about Lily, Judy Trenor has the nerve to rebuke Lily for
speaking to him, stating that “she [Bertha] had a right to retaliate – why on
earth did you interfere with her?” (Wharton, 60). Frankly, the fact that
marriage and respect and devotion to one’s spouse means nothing to these women
is incredibly inappropriate. Marriage is a sacred bond between two people, and
personally, I believe it should not be interfered with.
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| Carry Fisher |
Additionally, women
should not interfere with the husbands of other women in any way, which is
Carry Fisher’s problem. Carry gained her fortune through multiple marriages and
divorces, which in my opinion proves she had an ulterior motive for those
marriages. Carry also, however, currently obtains money from many married men,
just because they like her and appreciate her company. Once again, their
marital status is disregarded. Although it is appropriate to help out a friend
in need, I find Carry’s methods of gaining money rather dishonest. She lacks
respect for those men she is taking from, and for their wives too. Plus, when
she gets into a problem with money, Lily chooses the same path as Carry to gain
it, even though her provider is her good friend Judy Trenor’s husband. This
blatant disrespect for boundaries is entirely inappropriate, and that it
bothers none of the characters is a mystery to me.
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