Sense and Sensibility (1811) by Jane Austen is a novel of society and manners, following two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, in their attempts at love and marriage. House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton focuses on New York high society and the struggle of a well-born socialite, Lily Bart. Both novels explore the integral themes of women, society and marriage. Despite being written nearly a century apart, the social systems explored in these novels are extremely similar, with the ultimate goal of both female protagonists ultimately being marriage. The authors, in this sense, provide a critical vision of societies that place limitations on women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In both novels, it is shown that wealth, rather than love, is the most significant factor in marriage. The importance of wealth as a factor in Austen's Sense and Sensibility marriage is described at the end of the novel. Austen states that in Edward and Elinor's situation, "After this there remained but one undecided question between them, only one difficulty had to be overcome...Edward had two thousand pounds, and Elinor one...and neither of them were quite in love with I think three hundred and fifty pounds a year would enable you to apply it with the comforts of life.' Here, Austen suggests that despite love being a clear factor, wealth would always be seen as more important due to the reality of the societies these characters live in. Indeed, the stability that wealth brings to relationships is ultimately presented as the most important factor and, if you take into account the context in which the novel is written (early 19th century), it seems practical. Women in this period were under pressure for financial stability, as laws prevented them from owning property. Indeed, British society at that time had many restrictions (perhaps one of the most obvious was not having the right to vote) that made women dependent on men. 19th century census data also shows that there were many more women than men, meaning that finding a rich partner was becoming a difficult task. Wharton's House of Mirth features a similar attitude through the protagonist, Lily Bart. Lily is a symbolic representation of the typical woman of this era, which, although set a century later than Sense and Sensibility, is extremely similar. This is exemplified when Lily is in Bellomont, and the beginning of chapter three opens with Lily's thoughts on the need for her to gain wealth through marriage. As she walks through the luxurious corridors of Bellomont, Wharton describes: 'There were moments when such scenes delighted Lily, when they gratified her sense of beauty and her longing for the outward end of life; there were others that accentuated the scarcity of his opportunities.' The language Wharton uses here juxtaposes the extravagance of the "external finish of life" with her lexical choice of the noun "scarcity", carrying connotations of inadequacy, thus describing the importance Lily places on wealth as the lack of wealth is immediately associated to a negative lifestyle. Wharton goes on to say that Lily feels compelled to seduce Percy Gryce, a rich and desirable (if uninspiring) bachelor, to marry her: "She has been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce - the mere thought seemed to awaken an echo of her monotonous voice - but the next day he couldn't ignore it, he had to pursue his success,she had to submit to new boredom, she had to be ready with new yields and adaptabilities, and all on the pure chance that he would eventually decide to do so. do her the honor of boring her for life. Here, the repetition of Wharton's "boredom" reiterates how essentially uninteresting Gryce is to Lily, reflecting women's difficulties marrying for wealth rather than love at this time. Furthermore, Wharton selects the qualities of a woman who possesses “new suppleness and adaptability,” which represent the expectations of women in this time period to impress men. This idealistic image of a balanced, well-mannered, and impressive woman is similar to the way Elinor knows she should behave in Sense and Sensibility. For example, when Elinor discovers that Lucy is involved with Edward with whom she is in love, she holds back her emotions; “She was almost overwhelmed: her heart sank within her and she could barely stand; but the effort was indispensably necessary, and she fought so resolutely against the oppression of her feelings,' Wharton's choice of lexicon here shows how Elinor absolutely fought against her emotions, particularly through the adverbs 'almost' and 'hardly' and presenting the idea that this behavior was "indispensably necessary" where her use of the adjective shows the pressure society places on women to repress their feelings. Michal Beth Dinkler suggests that "Austen fosters Elinor's self-control", which is an interesting point of view; is it arguable that Austen advocated the repression of such intense female emotion that Marianne obviously does not? It is more likely that Austen used Elinor as a device to convey her criticism of a society that encouraged the repression of emotions for male benefit. For this reason, Marianne represents the opposite of what society would expect young women to behave, as she has an excess of emotion, a view supported by Dinkler; “Marianne, the true romantic, revels in her own floridity, languishing in layer upon layer of love language and succumbing to a dark, sad melancholy.” Overall in this section, it is clear that Wharton presents Lily as knowing that she needs to marry for financial stability, but ultimately resents this, a position many women would find themselves in during this time period due to their inevitable dependence on men. However, it is arguable that Lily's desire to marry a rich man is not purely a societal goal, but a personal one. Wharton presents this through the use of third-person narration, which allows the reader an oversight of Lily's true thoughts and feelings that perhaps in a first-person narrative, Wharton would not allow Lily to admit; 'NO; it was not made for the mean and squalid environments, for the squalid compromises of poverty. His whole being expanded in an atmosphere of luxury;' which suggests that Lily could not live without the opulent lifestyle that a wealthy husband would provide her. This is reiterated by Wharton's choice of the adjectives "bad", "shabby", "shabby", all of which present the lack of wealth as disgusting and unfair. Indeed, Lily in the novel is shown to be entirely conscientious of her need for wealth; "The certainty that she could marry Percy Gryce whenever she wanted had lifted a heavy burden from her mind... She would be able to arrange her life as she wanted", but it is clear through the language "arrange her life as she wanted" that Lily she also desires the freedoms that wealth could offer her. In contrast, in Sense and Sensibility, Elinor is presented as seeking only enough wealth to have onestable and practical lifestyle. This is shown in a conversation between Marianne and Elinor where Elinor explains that Marianne grew up unaware of the need for wealth in her life. “What do wealth and greatness have to do with happiness?” “Greatness has very little,” said Elinor, “but wealth has much to do with it…” This rhetorical question followed by the declarative shows Elinor's more mature view on marriage and wealth in this era: it is clear that recognizes the practical need for wealth to support their lifestyle. Furthermore, Wharton presents wealth as a more significant factor in marriage rather than love as Lily ultimately rejects Lawrence Selden, with whom, from the beginning of the novel, she is shown to be in love. Although Selden is rich, he is not the richest man Lily is involved with, and so she does not find him a suitable partner. Despite her previous shock at finding Percy Gryce so uninteresting, she recognizes how Selden makes her see the world differently but still does not allow herself to act on her affections; "her presence shed a new light on her surroundings." «That was the secret of his way of readjusting his vision. Lily...found herself peering into her little world through her retina: it was as if the pink lamps had been turned off and dusty daylight had entered.' The emphasis Wharton places on Selden representing the light and fulfillment in Lily's life shows her true feelings for him. In contrast to Austen's Sense and Sensibility, rather than Lily's true love, Selden, leaving her as Willoughby leaves Marianne, Lily simply chooses not to be with Selden. This highlights a difference in attitude between the two women; Lily is shown to believe she deserves someone rich to support her lifestyle, but being suitably wealthy herself, she is under no pressure to settle for Selden. Another example where Austen highlights the importance of wealth in marriage is through Willoughby, who only marries Miss Gray because of her wealth, despite the fact that he truly loves Marianne. Mrs. Jennings reveals Willoughby's sudden engagement to Miss Grey; “The lady then – Miss Gray, I believe you called her – is very rich?” 'Fifty thousand pounds, my dear. ...Fifty thousand pounds!' Within which Austen's repetition of the exclamatory phrase "fifty thousand pounds!" places emphasis on the fact that the relationship is primarily wealth. It can, however, be argued that Willoughby is unhappy because of his decision to marry for wealth. This is suggested at the end of the novel through his intense idealization of Marianne as the perfect woman as he is said to have "made her his secret standard of perfection in womanhood"; his unhappiness is further demonstrated by the fact that "Willoughby could not hear of his marriage with sorrow;". Here, Austen's use of a third-person omniscient narrator provides clear and detailed insight into Willoughby's thoughts and feelings, describing that although Willoughby had not "run away from society...or died of a broken heart", he thought often to Marianne and had actually caused his own unhappiness by leaving her. By having Willoughby be ultimately unhappy at the end of the novel, Austen can be said to be criticizing the 19th century society in which she is writing: because Willoughby chose to follow society's rules about marrying for wealth, she ended up in unhappiness, while both Marianne and Elinor reject society's traditional expectations regarding marriage and end up happier. However, in Sense and Sensibility, it can be argued that Austen introduces the concept that love is often more important than wealth howeverit's about marriage. Austen presents this through the character of Mrs. Dashwood, who, from the beginning of the novel, expresses her contentment with Edward Ferrars solely on the basis of her affection for Elinor. This is represented in Austen's description that "some mothers might have encouraged intimacy for the sake of interest, for Edward Ferrars was the eldest son of a man who had died very rich"; "It was enough for her that he seemed amiable, that he loved his daughter, and that Elinor returned his partiality." Austen's technique of listing Edward's positive qualities here shows that Mrs. Dashwood truly appreciates the favorable parts of Edward's character, showing that, despite social expectations, she believes in marrying for love rather than wealth alone. His desire for Elinor to be with him is further re-established when Austen explains that Edward is not particularly socially attractive, "He was not handsome, and his ways required intimacy to make them agreeable." He was too diffident to do himself justice; but when his natural shyness was overcome, his behavior gave every sign of an open and affectionate heart.' The adjectives "open" and "affectionate" suggest that Mrs. Dashwood can look beyond the typically superficial qualities of an idealistic partner for Elinor (i.e. beauty and good manners); choosing instead to truly understand Edward as a person. This further demonstrates that although wealth is an important factor in marriage in the society Austen writes in, love is presented as the fundamentally significant factor. This shows that Mrs. Dashwood is presented as a kind and open-minded character, further presented when Austen states that Edward's "tranquility of manner... militated against all his established ideas of what a young man's behavior should be" . Which shows that society's expectations even of men (perhaps especially to be rich, handsome and well-mannered) can be overshadowed by love in Austen's novel. In both novels, women are shown to live in a male-dominated society. In addition to a woman's pressure to marry someone rich to support her lifestyle, various other social pressures brought about by patriarchal societies in both contexts are shown to influence women's lives. Lily expresses from the first chapter of The House of Mirth the advantages that men have over women. When he goes to Selden's house for tea, he expresses his astonishment at men's freedom to own property; “How nice to have a place like this all to yourself!” What a miserable thing to be a woman!». In which Wharton's use of repeated exclamations shows Lily's desperation for her freedoms. Selden states that women can own apartments too, but Lily explains that no respectable woman would do so: "Oh, housekeepers – or widows." But not the girls, not the poor, miserable, marriageable girls!' in which Austen's use of the trifecta of adjectives shows her true irritation with society describing what women can and cannot do, and creates the idea that their behavior must present them, above all, as marriageable . This shows society's expectations towards women which consistently results in their ultimate lack of freedom. When the two then discuss the only woman they know who lives in an apartment, Gerty Farish, Lily says that she is not a woman to marry, which is reflected in her status in life. Lily's concern over a woman's status as "marriageable" or not also reveals the pressure she herself feels. Making sure that this section of the novel is predominantly a dialogue betweenSelden and Lily, Wharton allows the reader to see an insight into the interactions between men and women and their opinions of others in society at this time, predominantly focusing on the restrictions women faced. When Wharton uses narration in this section, it is often to reinforce the underlying message of the conversation between Selden and Lily, such as that Lily "was so obviously the victim of the civilization that had produced her," which portrays Wharton analyzing the Lily's critical attitude as this is due to her conditioning by the patriarchal society of this time, rather than her personal flaw. The male-dominated society in The House of Mirth is further shown by Lily's awareness of it. He explains to Selden from the first chapter how men objectify women and how their value is exemplified by their appearance. When Lily suggests to Selden that he might marry for wealth ("But are you sorry enough - marry your way out of it?") and Selden actually conveys that he would never do so ("God forbid!"), she tells him plainly the social expectations of women compared to men. "Ah, there's the difference: a girl must, a man can, if he wishes." where Wharton's lexical choices of the modal verb "can" versus the imperative "must" reiterate the lack of choices and freedom a woman has in this society. Wharton goes on to have Lily explain, "Your coat's a little shabby, but who cares?" It doesn't stop people from asking you out for dinner. If I were scruffy no one would want me: a woman is asked as much for her clothes as for herself. The clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: they are not successful, but they are part of it.' This long speech containing many complex sentences portrays Lily's thinking, providing a feminine perspective of her position in society. It describes the objectification of women that is evident in this society. It seems that almost every man Lily comes into contact with sees her primarily as an object, including Selden. In fact, the first line of the novel, 'Selden, paused in surprise. In the afternoon traffic of Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart' describes this, predominantly through the lexical choice of 'refreshed' which gives connotations of Lily as a material object rather than a person. Wharton, by placing this at the forefront of the novel, sets the tone for the patriarchy that is shown to rule society everywhere. Lily, rather than being a victim of her own society, is presented as self-aware, realizing early in the novel that she is "no longer regarded in [her social circle] as more than an expensive toy in the hands of a spoiled child ". 'in fact, when he is in Bellomont, he says he is aware of having to earn his stay there; «Because in the last year he had discovered that his guests expected him to take a seat at the gaming table. It was one of the taxes he had to pay for their prolonged hospitality." This clearly shows that in every social situation, women in this society were mainly seen as objects for others to observe and enjoy. It can be said that although women are limited by a patriarchy that reduces them to objects, Lily allows this to a certain extent. Literary critic Cynthia Wolff states, "The House of Mirth is about the disintegration of Lily Bart, the psychological disfigurement of any woman who chooses to accept society's definition of her as a beautiful object and nothing more," she goes on to point out, " Lily has adopted the image of women in her society narrowly and literally.' This idea can be clearly shown in the novel, adexample in Lily's performance at Welly Brys' tableaux vivants, where Lily disguised herself and showed herself as a living imitation of art. Lily enjoyed "the exhilaration of displaying her beauty in a new aspect: of showing that her beauty was not a mere fixed quality, but an element which molds all emotions into new forms of grace", thus demonstrating that Wharton presents Lily Bart as someone who enjoys being 'such a wonderful sight' (as Selden describes her), and objectified by others. In this way, it can certainly be argued that Wharton is presenting female characters from this era to promote the own objectification e support in some way the clear patriarchal and restrictive society into which they were born. Lily manipulates the audience and temporarily takes power." This perception is interesting if one considers Wharton as a feminist writer, allowing the audience to question whether Lily is a product of her society, or subtly questioning the dominant patriarchy through her behavior . It is clear that a male-dominated society prevails even within Sense and Sensibility. , and this is established from the beginning of the novel. It is important to recognize, however, that although property ownership by women was simply frowned upon in the context of The House of Mirth, it was legally impossible in Sense and Sensibility, before the Married Women's Property Act of 1882. This is one of the subtle differences in context in terms of women's position in society in the 19th century compared to the 20th century. Indeed, Austen's novel is set in a society where there are limited roles and opportunities for women, including the fact that female characters cannot inherit property or have careers. Their future lifestyle depends almost entirely on the men they marry, which explains why there are so many social expectations of women that make them attractive to potential husbands. This is reiterated from the beginning of the novel when, due to the death of the family patriarch, the women were forced to give up their lands and possessions to John Dashwood. Therefore, the female characters had to abruptly leave their home: "As soon as her father's funeral was over, Mrs. John Dashwood, without sending any notice... arrived." Furthermore, notably, the next house they move into had to be offered to them by a male relative: 'the offer of a small house...belonging to a relative...a gentleman of prominence and property in Devonshire.' further reiterating the dependence of women in this male-dominated society. In summary, it is clear that despite the subtle differences that can be seen in the works of Austen and Wharton due to the century that passed between each, the position of women in society has changed little. Marianne, Elinor and Lily reflect all the struggles and expectations of women, and their ultimate expectation: to get married. Austen's novel ultimately shows society's victory in Marianne's case: by the end of the novel she is no longer the hopeless romantic type and has settled for stability and wealth. This idea is presented by critic Diane Shubinsky, who points out that Marianne learns "the errors of her ways and recognizes the greater suitability of the older, more stable man" despite the truth that "she knew and had more in common with the rake than what she did with her future husband." Despite this, it is arguable that Marianne had become practiced in her activities, rather than her initial portrayal.