Lily’s Pursuit Of Home In The House Of Mirth

Edith Wharton is a leading American female novelist at the turn of the twentieth century, who produces a large amount of works. The House of Mirth, as one of her most popular novels, has received much attention from many critics who explore Lily Bart’s tragedy from various perspectives such as feminism and naturalism. This thesis will apply the Family Systems Theory together with Wharton’s narrative device of nostalgia to analyze Lily’s rootless condition and her persistent pursuit of an ideal home.This thesis mainly consists of four parts. The introductory part makes a brief biographical sketch on Edith Wharton and the plot of The House of Mirth. It also includes a survey of previous criticism of the novel.The second part discusses the theoretical basis---Family Systems Theory, and provides another key narrative device of nostalgia as approaches to Family Systems. Family Systems Theory provides a useful theoretical basis to analyze the disruptions of family relations in The House of Mirth. Nostalgia is a complex feeling about memory and the past experience. It is important to build up the sense of self when it is regarded as a device to negotiate imagines of the past with visions of future.The third part is the body of this thesis which can be divided into five chapters according to the space displacement and transition which is considered as a new frame by studying Lily’s changing shape of desire for home and identity. Lawrence Selden’s bachelor’ flat arouses her desire for an ideal home. Lily’s pseudo-self and superficial nostalgia make her believe that the only way to realize her dream is to marry a wealthy man. However, in Bellomont her dream breaks when she realizes she is merely a parasite in this gilt cage. She returns to Selden’s flat when she is in great crisis. Her identity is being shaped by her highly reflective profound nostalgia. The nostalgia aids her walk out of the old map of her self and helps her built a solid self. Her consciousness is a continuity of experiences. On her back way from Selden’s flat, Lily understands an alternative family system and the continuity of life in Nettie Struther’s kitchen. At last, on her boarding house room Lily realizes it is impossible for her to own a home built with love and faith, she could only imagines a warm home with the effect of sleeping medicine.The last part is conclusion. It summarizes the findings of the body part. It points out that lack of a permanent stable home and a supporting family is Lily’s primary problem which leads to her final tragedy.