Lily Bart - A Sexualized Object

 I thought it was really interesting to see the "living picture" scene depicted on film! I didn't picture Lily as she was cast in this film, which always ends up being my main issues with cinematic adaptations of books I have read.

'Mrs. Lloyd' by Reynolds - Lily's character in the scene from Chapter 12 in Book One 

At the end of Book One in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Lily Bart participates in the tableaux vivants at the Bry’s paty. She impersonates Reynolds’ Mrs Lloyd, as pictured above. This choice is perfect for Lily because she is able to embody the character without losing herself, or so it is represented. In fact, Lily is not herself on stage; she is a sexualized object.

The explanatory notes define tableaux vivants as the posing of ‘living pictures’ based on famous works of art or historical scenes; a favorite form of entertainment employed at all social levels. In the upper class New York society, these displays were of femininity and wealth. Lily is objectified as a sexual being in this scene. She is oogled by the crowd for her beauty. Wharton writes, “Her pale draperies, and the background of foliage against which she stood, served only to relieve the long dryad-like curves that swept upward from her poised foot to her lifted arm” (132).  She is literally working as a piece of art that men can purchase. She is to be collected not loved.

Ironically, this is the same scene when Selden feels that he glimpse into the real Lily Bart, but the moment is short lived. Lily surrounds herself with men who value her for only her outward appearance. Contrastingly, she is unable to value a man who does not have wealth, but at the same time holds some hope to finding a man that will love her, as well.

The tableaux vivante scene captures Lily’s quest in life very well. She tries to perform the best version of herself, the most beautiful, the most refined, but ultimately she is not valued in society apart from appearance. “No other tableau had been received with that precise note of approval: it had obviously been called forth by herself, and not by the picture she impersonated” (134). She is unable to harness either of her opposing desires, to love and to marry well, and therefore is left only as a beautiful face admired by male society. Sadly, beauty is a transient feature and once it is gone Lily is left with no hope.