Having been raised as a society maven, Wharton understood the intricacies of the Gilded Age society and the perils that it caused for women who were intelligent.

Having been raised as a society maven, Wharton understood the intricacies of the Gilded Age society and the perils that it caused for women who were intelligent.  Her novels remained extremely popular regardless of how much she criticized the American elite because of her position within the culture.  According to the film director Martin Scorsese, Wharton is America’s “most violent” writer because of her sharp critiques of the culture she understood so well.
• What is Lily Bart’s real goal, and how does the narrator help us to sympathize with her decisions?  What are the things that Lily does that so enrage her societal friends?  How do these actions alienate both her aunt and Bertha Dorset, in particular?
• How does the narrator implicate Seldon in Lily’s final action?  How does the narrator want us to feel toward Seldon at the novel’s end?