Analysis Of The House Of Mirth By Lara Saltz - 1522 Words

Selden, in The House of Mirth, is a character that is part of the Elite class, but that doesn’t allow the constraints of the elites shadow his vision. In her essay, Lara Saltz argues â€Å"Selden is able to see â€Å"real,† poetic Lily because he possesses both an acute eye for what is materially in front of him (Saltz 1).† She continues on with this thesis, arguing that Selden posses a balance between realism and imagination, that allows him to see the real Lily, during her performance of Sir Joshua Reynold’s pain, Mrs Lloyd. Evidence in the novel showing that Selden can see past the illusions of high life, can be seen in Lily realizing that Selden is detached from the social world, the discussion of love between Lily and Selden and Lily’s final confrontation of Selden and subsequent death. These three pieces of evidence support Saltz’s assertion that Selden can see things for what they really are due to his ability to balance realism and imagination. The first, being Lily’s observation that Selden is detached from the social class. The party, being thrown by Mrs. Trenor, is the stage in which Lily discovers that Selden is detached from social class. The entire affair, starts with Lily being asked to help, it seems, to plan the weeding. during this planning, it is discovered that Mrs. Trenor has scheduled the party in conflict with another character’s own party. They move in this sense, not really caring about who will be offended and even offer their own view to placate any