In the novel The House of Mirth, the protagonist, Lily Bart is trapped in a world filled with materialism, shallowness and hatred. In the high society of New York, the only way to be accepted is to have money, and lots of it. In Lily's case, she needs money in order to buy the life in which she was raised. However, the means to attain that money are limited. Unfortunately, Lily has not been trained to obtain that money in many ways. She believes that only by marrying a rich man will she be able to live the life of luxury that she is so accustomed to. In this day and age, women were seen as inferior to men. Therefore, women's aspirations, dreams, and goals were not even considered if they had anything other to do than getting married, raising a family, or shopping.
             Money is a key theme in this novel, and it plays an important role in Lily's life. In fact, it rules her life in many ways. In the past, present and even future of Lily's life, the desire to obtain money has always been a major part of her life. Beginning with Mrs. Bart's training early on in Lily's life, to the "what could have been" future if she did not kill herself. In this essay, we will see how Lily Bart, the protagonist is a slave to money, and how she struggles to make choices between money and love. On one hand, Lily desires money. She cannot survive without it, and she will do almost anything for it. On the other hand, whenever she is with Selden she realizes the shallow nature of the upper class society she so longingly wants to be a part of. However, even though she loves Selden, she will not marry him because he is not rich. Hence, the struggle between love and money.
             All her life, Lily has been accustomed to having money. Her family was once rich, with maids and butlers waiting on them. Lily and her mother would take trips to Europe, and spend the summer in Newport or Southampton. However, Lily knew that her family was always in need of ...