Can't Say I'm Not Surpised, but...WHAT?!

The House of Mirth (Book II)
Chapter XIV (a.k.a.-the most unsatisfying ending ever)


WHY?! Why did Lily have to die?! I mean, I saw it coming, yes, but I was hoping I would be wrong! After reading the entirety of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, working through every overly descriptive passage, and we don't even get a happy ending out of it?! I'm incredibly unsatisfied-not to mention, heartbroken as well. In complete honesty, I found myself tearing up when I read, "It was this moment of love, this fleeting victory over themselves....which in her, had reached out to him in every struggle against the influence of her surroundings, and in him, had kept alive the faith that now drew him penitent and reconciled by her side" (Wharton, 268).  So incredibly heartbreaking is the fact that the couple was unable to find peace until Miss Bart's death-when she was finally able to escape.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. Following the ups and downs of Lily Bart was at times frustrating (mostly the times when she would push Selden away) but suspenseful as well. She was an unpredictable character who always had a secret agenda for herself that she facilitated through her relationships with others. Sadly, this ultimately led to her downfall, which came in the form of suicide. All along, I was hoping Selden would finally step up as her "knight in shining armor" and save her once and for all from the binding and unhappy "society" of the wealthy. If she had simply married him after their encounter at Bellomont near the beginning of the story, she would have learned to live a happy modest life. Apparently this would have been too satisfying for the reader, so naturally, Wharton opted for a life of misery, culminating with death by suicide. Awesome.
I believe I learned to appreciate the writing style of Edith Wharton; to say I learned to enjoy her style, might be getting a little ahead of myself. Her heavy discription and occasional wacko sentence structure was at times to follow, but as I neared the end of the novel, I was breezing through ten pages an hour as opposed to five. But hey, the little victories in life mean the most, right?
I am excited to admit that I do feel more inteligent after reading this novel. I enjoy reading "classics" and exposing myself to new literature. Not to mention, the next time someone at the dinner table wants to discuss the multitude of internal conflicts Miss Lily Bart experienced in The House of Mirth, I will be the first to speak up!! Heck yeah.
I can not say I am not excited to be done with Novel #1, however. I'm definitely ready to see what The Great Gatsby has in store for me. Bring it on, F. Scott Fitzgerald.