Skills of Beauty

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 1, chap III-IV

"...Lily understood that beauty is only the raw material of conquest, and that to convert it to success other arts are required. She knew that to betray any sense of superiority was a subtler form the stupidity her mother denounced, and it did not take her long to learn that a beauty needs more tact than the possessor of an average set of features" (Wharton, 28).

Here the writer directly displays to the reader some of the conflicts, past experiences, and dominant traits of the main character.  From this quote we learn that Lily is very beautiful and over the years, has learned to use it to her advantage.  Though she grew up beautiful, she did not grow up especially wealthy, and therefore her beauty was a family treasure.  Lily's mother taught her as a child to use her looks to obtain certain things, but never to act superior because of them.  In her adult life, Lily carries this lesson into her relationship quests.  Lily is not the richest bachelorette on the market, but she is beautiful.  She even has an advantage over other beautiful single women because she has tact.  She knows how to make a man feel comfortable and confident, and how not to flaunt her own beauty in a superior manner.  Lily learned many things from her mother, including how to appear to have more money than you truly possess.  Lily was used to a comfortable lifestyle as a child and when their money ran out and her father died, Lily had to adjust drastically.  Lily's father was never really around and failed to provide for his family at the end of his life.  As a child, Lily faced the internal conflict of dealign with adjusting lifestyles and needing to act well off when their family was actually in financial ruin.  Because of these childhood experiences, Lily developed traits such as determination and strength.  As an adult, Lily uses her talents, strength, determination, and beauty to try to find a well-off suitor in order to avoid a repeat of her childhood.