Lily as the Goddess Diana in The House of MirthOne of the tragedies of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth is that Lily Bart is incapable to marry Laurence Selden and thus obtain a secure position in society. Their relationship varies from casual intimacy to outright love depending on how and where Selden perceives Lily. Selden sees a beautiful quality in Lily Bart that is not present in any of the other women in the novel. This mysterious beauty so often alluded to, in addition to her attraction to other men, is best understood when Lily is conceived as the goddess Diana. As Diana, Lily Bart searches for the perfect husband but cannot marry, stays away from the "misery" of society, and ends up being crushed by merciless rejection that can destroy even a goddess. Diana, the goddess of hunting and virginity, perfectly combines the traits that Lily Bart exhibits. Although never explicitly linked to the goddess, Wharton's first description of Lily notes her "grace of the wild woods" and her "sylvan freedom": "She paused before the fireplace, studying herself in the mirror as she adjusted her veil. the slope of her slender sides, which gave her figure a sort of wildwood grace, as if she were a captured dryad subjected to the conventions of the drawing room; and Selden thought it was the same trace of sylvan freedom in her; nature which gave so much flavor to its artificiality" (15). Not only does the description evoke the image of Diana, but also the name of Lily. Lily of the valley is Diana's flower. Lily Bart later chooses to wear a white dress united for her role in Reynold's painting, thus choosing Diana's color ...... middle of paper ...... Wharton brilliantly interprets Selden's unrealized love for Lily Bart. is based on her realization that it is her qualities as Diana that set her apart; yet it is this same distinct quality that will bring about her demise. Lily's inability to resurrect her reputation and use the letters against Bertha Dorset is intertwined. to her inability to marry; her tendency to run away from every man who proposes to her plunges her into a downward spiral from which she cannot recover. It is not morality, but rather her qualities as a virgin goddess that ultimately condemns her. By making Lily a form of Diana, Wharton is able to condemn her society even more fiercely. She shows us that the society Lily lives in has the capacity to destroy even a goddess. Works Cited Wharton, Edith. The house of joy. Classic sign: New York. 1964.