Fun Trivia : Wharton, Edith

Structure Sub-topic of: Authors T-Z Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 20 general entries. Special Topics Who Knows? Wharton's "The Age of Innocence"

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Wharton, Edith

In what American city does the major part of the story take place?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


New York. Her previous novel was set in Europe, without much success. Henry James suggested to write a novel set in New York. Suprisingly enough James didn't like the novel. According to him it contained two different novels.



In chapter one Lily drinks first with Selden and later again with Percy Gryce. What does she drink?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


tea. Lily demonstrates how refined her manners are by making tea on a train. This shows how well she's integrated in the high society in spite of not being rich herself.



What does Percy Gryce collect?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


books. He collects Americana. Lily pretends to be interested in this boring subject, because she hopes to marry him for his money. Gryce is glad that finally somebody shares his passion!



The title "The House of Mirth" refers to the estate of the Trenors. What's its name?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Bellomont. The title refers to the decadent lifestyle of these rich people: gambling, adultery, speculation, big parties... They are the "new rich", most of them not of noble descent. Lily feels at home in this environment and loses a lot of money by playing bridge.



What is Mrs. Peniston to Lily?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


her aunt. Lily dislikes her aunt for being boring, but hopes to inherit her fortune. This expectation of a big inheritance helps her to infiltrate among the rich.



Who isn't a guest at the estate of the Trenors?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Gerty Farish. Gerty Farish is Selden's cousin. She has a sober lifestyle. Lily looks down on her in the beginning, but Gerty turns out to be one of her few real friends.



Lily promised to go to church, but goes for a walk instead. Who joins her?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Lawrence Selden. She promised it to the Trenor daughters and to Percy Gryce. She originally hoped to get a marriage proposal from Gryce after the service, but Selden's arrival at Bellomont made her change plans.



What symbolical country was invented by Selden?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


the republic of the spirit. Selden shows Lily how shallow it would be to marry Gryce for his money. Lily is confronted with the dilemma between marrying Selden for love or marrying another for money.



Who marries Percy Gryce?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Evie van Osburgh. Lily has missed her chance. She regrets that Gryce's fortune is united with another fortune, the one of the van Osburghs. Evie's sister, Gwen van Osburgh, marries Jack Stepney, so Lily's cousin succeeds in marrying a rich woman.



Mrs. Haffen, the char-woman, sells a packet of letters to Lily. Who wrote these letters to whom?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Bertha Dorset to Lawrence Selden. Mrs. Haffen abusively thinks that Lily wrote the letters. She wants to blackmail her. Lily buys the letters, becauses she thinks about blackmailing George or Bertha Dorset herself. If they would divorce, she could marry George. However Lily is too good for this and ultimately burns the letters.



Paul Morpeth organizes an exhibition of "tableaux vivants". Whose painting does Lily represent?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Reynolds. She represents the portrait "Mrs. Loyd" by Sir Joshua Reynolds (England, 1723-1792). Everybody in Bellomont admires the result, not so much for the resemblance, but simply for how beautiful Lily looks in that dress.



Who invites Lily for a trip to Europe?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Bertha Dorset. Bertha will later become one of Lily's biggest enemies, when she suspects her of having an affair with her husband George. The invitation is the end of the first part. They plan to have a cruise on the Mediterranean, but will spend most of their time in Nice and Monaco.



Who inherits the largest part of Mrs. Peniston's fortune?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Grace Stepney. Lily is disinherited, because she has gambling debts and because there are rumors about her alleged affair with George Dorset. Grace Stepney spends a lot of time with Mrs. Peniston and hates Lily, who looks down on her.



How much was Lily's debt to Gus Trenor?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


$9.000. Lily thought it was her own money, but found out that he actually paid her hoping to become her lover. The last thing she does before she dies is write a cheque to Gus Trenor.



Which word describes the personality of Gerty Farish?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


altruistic. She is involved in charity work. Lily's donation is mainly for her own ego and is ironically enough paid with Gus Trenor's money. It helps Nettie Strutter-Crane to start a new life.



Where does Lily travel to with the Gormers?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Alaska. She doesn't really like the Gormers, but wants to escape from her difficult situation in New York. Later Bertha Dorset makes sure that that relation is destroyed also.



How many jobs does Lily have during her lifetime?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


two. First she's the social secretary of Mrs. Norma Hatch in the Emporium Hotel. Later she's a milliner. Although she was always proud that she could trim her own hats, she turns out to be terrible at this job and ends up unemployed.



Who plays Lily Bart in the movie adaptation by Terence Davies in 2000?

Edith Wharton: "The House of Mirth"


Gillian Anderson. It was already a silent movie, by Albert Capellani, in 1918! Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie and Oona's daughter, played Lily in the 1981 tv adaptation. Gillian Anderson is a very good Lily. The story works well on the screen, because it's very visual.