Seeking The Freedom Of Spirit: Female Escaping Consciousness In The House Of Mirth By Mirth By Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton, an intellectual and prolific American woman writer, occupies an important position in the history of American literature. The House of Mirth, crucial in Wharton's career, establishes her position as an important writer in American literary canon. From feministic and psychoanalytic feministic perspectives, this thesis is intended to explore the escaping consciousness of Lily Bart, the protagonist in The House of Mirth, which leads to her failure and ostracism from the upper class ultimately.When her dualistic character, her relationships with men and women, and her status in the society are analyzed, Lily is found to be an isolated person in the society and her fate of escape is inevitable. Based on Horney's theory, this thesis concludes that Lily develops from a compliant person to a detached one at last in order to solve her inner conflicts. She chooses escape as a method to detach herself from the old value and dream.In a word, Lily, representing women who have been awakened, adopts escape as a weapon to rebel against patriarchy and to seek freedom of spirit. Wharton portrays Lily's escape in order to represent women's awakening, their consciousness of rebellion and their hope for spiritual freedom in the male-dominated world.