The Social Fall of Lily Bart

Edith Wharton's Lily Bart in The House of Mirth spends most of the story improving, securing, and worrying about her social status among her peers.  She has had to fight for her own standing as she didn't have a mother to do so.  Because of this great effort Lily has always had to use, she takes a tremendous amount of pride in being considered one of the social elite.  However, when she decides to come with the Dorsets to Southern Europe, she had little idea this would ultimately undo everything she has worked for her entire life.  After Mr. Dorset develops a small crush on Lily, who was instructed to distract him from his wife, Mrs. Dorset separated herself from Lily, excluded her from their yacht, and immediately told everyone her own version of the story upon arrival back in America.  This story, along with the true rumors of Lily's debts were heard by Lily's guardian, Mrs. Peniston, who was simply mortified by the talks.  As a result, Lily was excluded from the majority of her will, which left Lily embarrassed, socially destroyed, and unable to pay off her debt to Mr. Trenor.  Lily, now reduced to one real friend, shows that in her mind gaining social status is the only way out of anything when she thinks "she must set out to regain, little by little, the position she had lost," (Wharton, 184).  Lily will likely struggle to gain even a small amount of social recognition without friends with some, yet this is the only thing she can take any pride in.  Her actions throughout the book suggest she will either gain social status or kill herself trying.