Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth presents an interesting study of the social construction of subjectivity. The Victorian society in which Wharton's characters operate is defined by a rigid structure of morals and manners in which one's identity is determined by apparent conformity or transgression of social norms. What is striking about this form of social identification is its resolutely linguistic nature. In this context, the behaviors themselves are rendered in text form, and the incessant social evaluation in which the novel's characters participate is a process of deciphering this behavioral script. Here, people's actions are interpreted, as it were, according to the unique social grammar of this society. The novel's treatment of this conception of social reading is highlighted by the devaluation of written texts in favor of readable behaviors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The novel signals this pattern from its opening. In the first scene we are introduced to Selden, engaged in what we discover to be a typical activity of the novel's characters, the silent, personal questioning of another person. “If she had appeared to be taking a train, we are told, he could have deduced that he had come upon her in an act of transition between one of the country houses which contested his presence? ). Here Selden, from his first glimpse of Lily, began to conjecture all sorts of explanations for her mere presence in the station. Like all members of his social niche, he does not hesitate to pass judgment until he is better informed of his situation. Even the slightest "air of irresolution" gives him the right to divert his attention from what he may have done to determine the reason for his appearance in what, it seems, was not a strange place. We are told on this first page that this is not aberrant behavior, the private entertainment of a curious and boring person. As Wharton informs us, "it was characteristic of her [Lily] to always arouse speculation, and to think that her simplest acts seemed to be the result of grand intentions" (5). Indeed, "to judge Miss Bart, he, [Selden], had always used the 'design argument'" (7). Each of Lily's actions has a meaning that can be discerned through an investigation like Selden's. Selden reads its behaviors, evaluates the syntax of the activity while searching for its semantic content. Certain words (acts) spoken (performed) in certain contexts tell us what the speaker (actor) intends to communicate. Given this interpretation of behavioral texts, it is therefore not surprising that upon entering Selden's apartment, Selden and Lily share a brief conversation regarding another form of text, his book collection. We can clearly see that books make their first appearance not as sources of knowledge, but as a social pretext. During the conversation we learn that those who collect Selden's books are usually an exception, not doing so to read them, but simply to own something of great value due to its rarity. At this early stage, then, it is suggested that written texts are subordinate to behavioral texts in the sense that they are used in the service of actions made intelligible through behavioral interpretation. As we will see, being seen reading a book or article is much more important than actually reading it. Indeed, the claim to read written texts, in one of its rare appearances,is the perfect way to disguise one's true reading of the written word. the behavior of another person. This is highlighted most clearly in the scene in which Lily meets Percy Gryce on the train. There is the image of Percy "hiding behind an unfolded newspaper" while Lily "began cutting out the pages of a novel, quietly studying her prey [Percy]" (20). Wharton even speaks of Percy's "conscious awareness" absorption into the paper, an absorption which leads Lily to deduce that he is well aware of her presence. His reading is an act of deviation, the written text used as a pretext in the service of reading (or avoiding reading) another person the use of written texts is common throughout the novel, for example, that in Bellemont, “the library has. in fact never been used for reading, although it had some popularity as a smoking room or as a quiet haven for flirting (63). had a book on his lap, was not occupied with it” (63) Once again, written texts were open, like Lily’s novel or Percy’s unread diary in a scene in which others read. is perhaps most acute, interactions between the sexes This juxtaposition between reading behaviors and written texts is most strongly emphasized in the case of Percy Gryce. Percy identifies strongly with his book collecting habits. Gryce's only qualities for which he is socially known are his money and his books. Wharton tells us that "the existence of the collection was the only fact that ever brought honor to the name of Gryce" (24). Furthermore, Percy conceives of his own social value in terms of his book collection, delighting in the idea of ​​"the interest which would be aroused if the people whom he met in the street or among whom he sat on a journey learned suddenly that he was the owner.” of Gryce Americana" (24). But Percy's own sense of identity lay not only in the fact that he possessed an incomparably large collection of Americana, his own awareness of this identity was itself provoked by the reading Although Percy avoided personal attention, he was an avid reader of book collecting journals, always looking for references to his collection. So it was through his reading, rather than through actual social interaction. “he came to see himself as a leading figure in the public eye” (24), where most people's self-concept was determined by their reading of each other's behaviors. each in a public setting, Percy's self-conception was determined by his surrogate use of written texts to judge his own worth. It seems no coincidence to me that Percy, one of the most socially uncomfortable characters in the novel, is the only one that Wharton identifies with written texts. It is almost as if his association with these texts prevents him from interacting according to the grammar of behavioral textuality like other members of his society. It is also important to note the great authority that this form of text possesses, an authority that transcends the truth of the intention that the text is intended to communicate. For example, take Lily's interaction with Rosedale after leaving Selden's apartment in Book 1, Chapter 1. As Lily admits in the next chapter, "a simple statement of fact would have made [her observed visit to Selden] harmless.” Yet she still makes up a lie that Rosedale believes is false. We don't really know why she does this. It seems pretty obvious that she is momentarily afraid that a statement of fact is actually.