In the way she carries herself around others to please them to the way she constantly places herself in knowingly unpleasant situations, Lily Bart is seen as a very atypical character. Lily’s lifestyle is a cycle between wealth and poverty and relationships with different men. Lily follows these cycles rejecting the numerous opportunities presented to her to escape the lifestyle of poverty that she so resents. Many of these rejections represent an unrealistic image of marriage and the subjectivity of women and their roles in society. The rejections also represent a very inflated image of Lily’s self-worth and her own potential brought on by the events that unfolded during her childhood. Moreover, Lily's rejections reflect an underlying sense
…show more content…
“Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart” (5). Every character in the book realizes Lily’s beauty and Lily uses this attention to turn herself into an object. Lily is not able to exist on her own, she only exist in the way others see her especially men. Lily’s inflated image of her self-worth and her potential is not only brought on by the present but mostly grown from her past. From birth Lily’s mother raised her to behave like the upper class, to want and live like them. Lily’s mother’s hatred for dinginess and poverty is seen in who Lily grows up to be as she deals with her insecurities. After her father’s death, Lily’s mother places a lot of emphasize on what beauty can do, especially Lily’s beauty. “Only one thought consoled her, and that was the contemplation of Lily’s beauty. She studied it with a kind of passion, as though it were some weapon she had slowly fashioned for her vengeance” (37-38). To Lily’s mom, her beauty became a way out of the poor lifestyle they both now lived without a man. Lily’s physical characteristics were so hopped on and emphasized that as Lily grew up, her beauty became the only thing she thought she knew how to use to succeed in life. With every moment that passed in the book, Lily aged and took notice to how her beauty was beginning to fail her in turn her future becomes unknown. “As she sat before the mirror brushing her hair, her face looked hollow and pale, and she was frightened by two little lines near her mouth, faint flaws in the smooth curve of the cheeks” (31). Lily’s fear of aging is notable as she knows very well that as she ages, her chance of getting married diminishes. Her mother placed her beauty on a pedestal and that is exactly what Lily did and
“Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart” (5). Every character in the book realizes Lily’s beauty and Lily uses this attention to turn herself into an object. Lily is not able to exist on her own, she only exist in the way others see her especially men. Lily’s inflated image of her self-worth and her potential is not only brought on by the present but mostly grown from her past. From birth Lily’s mother raised her to behave like the upper class, to want and live like them. Lily’s mother’s hatred for dinginess and poverty is seen in who Lily grows up to be as she deals with her insecurities. After her father’s death, Lily’s mother places a lot of emphasize on what beauty can do, especially Lily’s beauty. “Only one thought consoled her, and that was the contemplation of Lily’s beauty. She studied it with a kind of passion, as though it were some weapon she had slowly fashioned for her vengeance” (37-38). To Lily’s mom, her beauty became a way out of the poor lifestyle they both now lived without a man. Lily’s physical characteristics were so hopped on and emphasized that as Lily grew up, her beauty became the only thing she thought she knew how to use to succeed in life. With every moment that passed in the book, Lily aged and took notice to how her beauty was beginning to fail her in turn her future becomes unknown. “As she sat before the mirror brushing her hair, her face looked hollow and pale, and she was frightened by two little lines near her mouth, faint flaws in the smooth curve of the cheeks” (31). Lily’s fear of aging is notable as she knows very well that as she ages, her chance of getting married diminishes. Her mother placed her beauty on a pedestal and that is exactly what Lily did and