I recently finished House of Mirth and loved your discussion. Thank you so much! I found the podcast a couple of days ago and so much appreciate its intelligence, sensitivity, honesty, candor, lack of pretense, and humor. All the best to all of you!
The last couple of chapters seem to me to point to "fate" as the single word that both Lily and Lawrence have in mind. Fate has conspired to keep them apart. But Lily feels that if she can speak the word to Lawrence, it will set everything right. I think this is because she believes that, notwithstanding the wreck that both circumstance and their own failings have made of their dream of love, they are still fated for one another, which nothing can undo. Whether Wharton means that their souls are somehow fated to be together in an eternal sense, I don't know, but how nice to think that! The book does seem to offer comfort, given that Lily believes the word will set all things right between the two of them. This may be in two senses: 1) There is forgiveness in the fact that fate has kept them apart; and 2) Because they are fated for each other, the love that they shared is enduring.
Oh my goodness, I think you nailed it. Fate! And this fits perfectly with the themes of Greek tragedy we see in the second half of the book. Thank you for your insight!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! We have so much fun doing it!
I appreciate your thoughts on The House of Mirth. When I reread it (which I’m sure I will before long) I will keep that in my mind as a possible last word! This is a book that I already know will reward a rereading!
I was so excited to finally hear the results of this book swap! I think one of the most interesting things Wharton does in the House of Mirth is how she handles Lily. She’s both too principled to be successful in the worldly sense, but too worldly to be successful in the simpler life that her principles/scruples might naturally lead to. The fact that part of me just wanted Lily to do the bad/questionable things already and stop dithering around was a very interesting examination of conscience
This is a book that I truly cannot wait to reread! I loved your review/comparison of Jane Eyre and Age of Innocence and I am also chomping at the bit to read that now!
I love a good literary examination of conscience!
I really did think that Wharton was an amazing writer. Her sentences and word choices were pretty much perfect!
I recently finished House of Mirth and loved your discussion. Thank you so much! I found the podcast a couple of days ago and so much appreciate its intelligence, sensitivity, honesty, candor, lack of pretense, and humor. All the best to all of you!
The last couple of chapters seem to me to point to "fate" as the single word that both Lily and Lawrence have in mind. Fate has conspired to keep them apart. But Lily feels that if she can speak the word to Lawrence, it will set everything right. I think this is because she believes that, notwithstanding the wreck that both circumstance and their own failings have made of their dream of love, they are still fated for one another, which nothing can undo. Whether Wharton means that their souls are somehow fated to be together in an eternal sense, I don't know, but how nice to think that! The book does seem to offer comfort, given that Lily believes the word will set all things right between the two of them. This may be in two senses: 1) There is forgiveness in the fact that fate has kept them apart; and 2) Because they are fated for each other, the love that they shared is enduring.
Oh my goodness, I think you nailed it. Fate! And this fits perfectly with the themes of Greek tragedy we see in the second half of the book. Thank you for your insight!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! We have so much fun doing it!
I appreciate your thoughts on The House of Mirth. When I reread it (which I’m sure I will before long) I will keep that in my mind as a possible last word! This is a book that I already know will reward a rereading!
I was so excited to finally hear the results of this book swap! I think one of the most interesting things Wharton does in the House of Mirth is how she handles Lily. She’s both too principled to be successful in the worldly sense, but too worldly to be successful in the simpler life that her principles/scruples might naturally lead to. The fact that part of me just wanted Lily to do the bad/questionable things already and stop dithering around was a very interesting examination of conscience
This is a book that I truly cannot wait to reread! I loved your review/comparison of Jane Eyre and Age of Innocence and I am also chomping at the bit to read that now!
I love a good literary examination of conscience!
I really did think that Wharton was an amazing writer. Her sentences and word choices were pretty much perfect!