Naturalistic Analysis Of The House Of Mirth

As the first female writer endowed with the Pulitzer Prize in America and the firstwoman awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale, Edith Wharton as well as herworks takes a decisive position in the American literary history. With her uniqueself-experience and the penetrating insight, she created plentiful works and was grantedthe Gold Medal by the National Art Academy. Especially her novel the House of Mirth,which made her well-known, was not only accepted by the readers, but also attractedmany literary criticizers, among most of which analyzed it from the perspective offeminism. Based on the past studies both at home and abroad, the thesis aims to analyzethis famous works from the angle of naturalism.The thesis includes three parts which are introduction, body and conclusion. Theintroduction overviews the writer and her novel simply as well as analyses the currentsituation of study of this novel at home and abroad. The reason why Wharton and herworks are criticized is due to her gender and her rich living condition. So she suffersunfair treatment even though her writings are as splendid as those of male writers in herage. The study of Wharton’s works has sprung up from the seventies although mostanalyzed them from the angle of feminism, which even Wharton herself denied. As timegoes on, the study of Wharton and her work has developed into deeper levels. Somecritics use Freud’s psychoanalysis theory to study Wharton and some analyze the worksfrom the perspective of sociology or even modernism. However, few connect her novelwith the naturalism, on which the thesis is based.The first chapter mainly introduces the literary theory of the thesis, naturalism, andits influence on Wharton’s creation. Although naturalism develops based on the realism,there are differences between these two literary genres, which are explained in the firstchapter. Under the influence of Darwin’s evolution theory and Zola, American naturalismstresses the power of heredity, environment and fate. What’s more, the perception ofWharton’s naturalism does not happen by accident and the form of her unique naturalisticconcept is due to many factors such as her own life experience, the social context and thecultural trends.The second chapter mainly analyzes the tragic fate of the heroine—Lily Bart withthe basic elements of naturalism including environment, heredity and chance. The naturalists believe that human beings, who are under the control of environment andheredity, are the products of their own sentiments in certain social context. In the novelthere are mainly three social customs which lead to Lily’s tragedy and they includemoney worship, patriarchal regimes and the social conflicts between the new and oldworld. What’s more, her family background is another main factor of her misfortune. Sheis influenced by the totally different characters of her parents, which make her unable toadapt to the society. Moreover, Wharton combines the factor of chance with Lily’s fatefrom the beginning of the novel, which strengthens the naturalistic atmosphere of herworks.In the third chapter, through the analysis of three female characters’ paths of life aswell as their different fates in the social “arena”, Wharton’s naturalistic concept as wellas the ideal relationship between human beings and the nature in her heart is clearlyshown. Lily pursues material pleasure and at the same time she is reluctant to submit tothe society she lives in. It is the contradiction in her character that leads to her tragedy.What’s more, her credulity, evasion and dependence in her character are also the factorsof her misfortune. The character of Bertha can reflect the social reality and showspeople’s helplessness before nature and society. While Gerty is Wharton’s ideal character,whose independence and courage in face of the reality are praised by the writer.The forth chapter stresses the existence and morality hidden behind the naturalismin the House of Mirth, which is the distinctive difference between Wharton and othernaturalistic writers. Most naturalists emphasize the frailty of man and the irresistibility ofnature while Wharton realizes the limitation of naturalism so that she gives her charactersthe free will and makes the moral sense the primary concern in her creation. The pursuitof morality is reflected obviously below the naturalistic surface of her novel and Lilyrefuses to reach a compromise with her society and the environment because she pursuesher “Republic of Spirit”, the symbol of morality.Through the analysis above, the conclusion can be made that Wharton’s uniquenaturalistic concept makes her the irreplaceable writer in the American literary history.What’s more, the analysis of the characters in the novel has important realisticsignificance in the modern world and serves as a warning especially to women.