Jane Eyre vs House of Mirth Lily Essay - 2044 Words

Jane Eyre vs House of Mirth Lily The novels, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, and House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, contain many similarities and differences of which I will discuss in this essay. The focus will be on the main characters of each book, Jane Eyre, and Lily Bart and will include important points and ideas demonstrated in these novels. To begin, Jane, from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was an orphan who was raised by an upper-class family who resented her and did not want her, therefore torturing, abusing, and treating her as someone at a status even lower than the servants. As a child, she knows that her status is awkward and even later on, as a grown woman, she is considered a second class citizen†¦show more content†¦To point out another difference in status between the two characters, Jane Eyre rarely displayed a longing to be part of the higher class, whereas, Lily Bart is intrigued and attracted by it. Another comparison between Lily and Jane can be made regarding beauty. This topic is apparent almost immediately in House of Mirth. In the beginning of the book, it is expressed that, â€Å"One or two persons, in brushing past them, lingered to look; for Miss Bart was a figure to arrest even the suburban traveller rushing to his last train† (p.18). He goes on to wonder that, â€Å"she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must have been sacrificed to produce her† (p.20). These excerpts demonstrate Lily’s external beauty. This notion is made even more obvious in the line, â€Å"the qualities distinguishing her from the herd of her sex were chiefly external†. Lily was beautiful and charming which may have aided her on her way to popularity. Even her name, Lily, implies beauty and can be seen as an emblem of femininity. Jane is very different from Lily concerning the aspect of ‘beauty’. She is not blessed w ith physical beauty and is described as ordinary and plain. However, Jane consists of a certain kind of beauty, perhaps more important. She is internally beautiful and has the advantage of having the beauty of mental intelligence and