CliffsNotes on

The House of Mirth

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Book Summary

Edith Wharton Biography

Early Years
Education and Early Work
Married Life
The French Years
Career Highlights

About The House of Mirth

Summary, Analysis, and Original Text by Chapter

Book 1: Chapter I
Book 1: Chapter II
Book 1: Chapter III
Book 1: Chapter IV
Book 1: Chapter V
Book 1: Chapter VI
Book 1: Chapter VII
Book 1: Chapters VIII–IX
Book 1: Chapter X
Book 1: Chapters XI–XII
Book 1: Chapter XIII
Book 1: Chapter XIV
Book 1: Chapter XV
Book 2: Chapter I
Book 2: Chapter II
Book 2: Chapter III
Book 2: Chapter IV
Book 2: Chapter V
Book 2: Chapter VI
Book 2: Chapters VII–VIII
Book 2: Chapters IX–X
Book 2: Chapter XI
Book 2: Chapter XII
Book 2: Chapter XIII
Book 2: Chapter XIV

Character List

Character Map

Character Analysis

Lily Bart
Mr. and Mrs. Bart
Lawrence Selden
Gerty Farish
Carry Fisher
Simon Rosedale
Gus Trenor
Bertha Dorset, Grace Stepney, Judy Trenor
Mrs. Peniston

Critical Essays

The Critics: The House of Mirth as Gilded Age House of Cards

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for House of Mirth
Quiz
Essay Questions
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Study and Homework Help

Quiz

1:  With whom is Lily living at the beginning of the novel?

a. Getty Farish

b. Her aunt Mrs. Peniston

c. Her mother

d. Her friends the Trenors
2:  Why does Lily stop working for the Gormers?

a. They discover she is romantically linked with Simon Rosedale.

b. Bertha Dorset poisons Mattie Gormer against Lily.

c. Lily is compromised by Gormer.

d. Ned Silverton advises her to do so.
3:  Why does Bertha Dorset malign Lily’s character?

a. To mask Bertha’s affair with Lawrence Selden

b. To get revenge on behalf of Judy Trenor

c. To prevent Lily from marrying her son

d. To mask Bertha’s affair with Ned Silverton
4:  Gerty Farish is whose cousin?

a. Lawrence Selden’s

b. Carry Fisher’s

c. Lily Bart’s

d. Judy Trenor’s
5:  Why does Lily accept the Dorset’s invitation to travel to Europe?

a. In order to court Ned Silverton

b. To help her forget her debts to Gus Trenor

c. To find Lawerence Selden and accept his proposal

d. To convince George Dorset to loan her money
6:  Why does Gerty wish to keep Lily’s chloral overdose a secret?

a. Suicide was socially unacceptable.

b. She suspects Lily was killed.

c. She is using Lily’s death to further her own romance with Selden.

d. She is afraid she’ll be blamed for the death.
7:  Why does Lily refuse to use Bertha’s letters to Selden to her own cause?

a. She believes blackmail is wrong.

b. She would then have no choice but to marry Simon Rosedale.

c. She feels too indebted to Bertha.

d. She secretly loves George Dorset.
8:  What is Lawrence Selden’s profession?

a. Student

b. Businessman

c. Real estate tycoon

d. Attorney
9:  Who says the following: “Isn’t marriage your vocation? Isn’t it what you’re all brought up for?”

a. Simon Rosedale

b. Lawrence Selden

c. Bertha Dorset

d. Gus Trenor
10:  Who says the following: “Gad, you go to men’s houses fast enough in broad daylight—strikes me you’re not always so deuced careful of appearances.”

a. Carry Fisher

b. Simon Rosedale

c. Gus Trenor

d. Gerty Farish



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