Question on ending in film... - The House of Mirth (2000) Discussion

[–] enbilal 16 years ago

Not accidental. I suggest you change the title of the post not to spoil the ending for the people who haven't seen it.

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[–] deeveed 16 years ago

Yes, you're right...I did....thx

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[–] deeveed 16 years ago

Re: the ending then....

Some may know of a letter written by Wharton regarding her question to a well-known society doctor who treated the well-to-do where she asked "what soporific, or nerve-calming drug, would a nervous and worried young lady in the smart set be likely to take to, and what would be its effects if deliberatley taken with the intent to kill herself? I mman, how would she feel and look toward the end?"

Hmmm..this appears to answer the question I guess. But apparently she must've chnaged her mind a bit because when the last pages of the novel were written the writing doesn't exactly spell-out suicide.

For me, I think she really just wanted some time to 'nod out' so to speak just like others when they're under tremendous stress. I don't know. She had a interesting and sort of "tough" personality. Naive perhaps but essentially she was kind of a figther, wasn't she? I just don't think she had the intention to kill herself.

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[–] Jakuja 16 years ago

I don't think she consciously intended to kill herself, but in the book, she knew as she measured out the drops that she was pushing her luck in terms of the dosage.

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[–] deeveed 16 years ago

"maybe she just wanted to make sure she was going to get a good night's "sleep"?..........but really did she know the dosage was enough to make sure she would never wake up again?

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[–] funniegrrl 16 years ago

In my mind there is no question that it was deliberate. When she last visits Seldon she says she doesn't want to live any more. Once she has the legacy and has endorsed it over to Trenor, her obligation was satisfied and she had no resources and no hope of resources left.

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[–] springhill49635 15 years ago

I agree. Lily chose death over dishonor.

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[–] angelluslover-1 15 years ago

What was the drug she took?

Jack Sparrow:Now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something!

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[–] rkcarter 15 years ago

In other posts on this forum, it states that she was hooked on Chloral Hydrate.

From Wikipedia:

Chloral hydrate is used for the short-term treatment of insomnia and as a sedative before minor medical or dental treatment. It was largely displaced in the mid-20th century by barbiturates and subsequently by benzodiazepines. It was also formerly used in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic. Today, it is commonly used as an ingredient in the veterinary anesthetic Equithesin. It is also still used as a sedative prior to EEG procedures, as it is one of the few available sedatives that does not suppress epileptiform discharges.

In therapeutic doses for insomnia chloral hydrate is effective within sixty minutes, it is metabolized within 4 minutes into trichloroethanol by erythrocytes and plasma esterases and many hours later into trichloroacetic acid. Higher doses can depress respiration and blood pressure. An overdose is marked by confusion, convulsions, nausea and vomiting, severe drowsiness, slow and irregular breathing, cardiac arrhythmia and weakness. It may also cause liver damage and is moderately addictive, as chronic use is known to cause dependency and withdrawal symptoms.

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[–] angelluslover-1 15 years ago

Thank you for your help. I didnt see this info posted anywhere else thats why I asked.

Jack Sparrow:Now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something!

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[–] carolsh 13 years ago

Chloral

"There's no-one left to fly the plane!"

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[–] hythm 15 years ago

The fact that she took out her dress when she was at her most beautiful and put it on her bed when she lied down on it, somehow makes it seem she wanted to reminisce the glory days at the conclusion of her life. She just seemed so tired from the weight of her suffering. I don't know if it was a flat-out suicide, though. More life half-half in my interpretation.

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[–] howdoesitfeelIMDb 9 years ago

Having just seen the movie, I totally vouch for the half-half.

I mean, when you get to a certain point of desperation, and I know a lot of people do in life (generally speaking), one might be tempted to "flirt" with the idea of giving up entirely, of surrendering. So you take one more step than you reasonably should toward the void, one more pill to sleep just a tad--or way--longer, one more drink to ease the encroaching unease. One feels like gambling their own existence, which has become such a whimsical thing, dragged through the mud and battered up.

While having not read Wharton's novel, The House of Mirth as a film portrays very aptly the ambiguity of Lily Bart's final act. She doesn't chug down the whole bottle; no, she only takes that small extra amount one probably shouldn't... as if she didn't really care anymore.

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[–] Miss_Sui_Generis 13 years ago

Good question. The film's ending makes Lily Bart's death seem like suicide. Wharton didn't write it that way.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the novel, she had just received courage and comfort from an unlikely, forgotten source, and returned to her dingy boarding house determined to adjust to the circumstances of her life. Lily was too nervous to sleep. Not even clearing her desk and arranging her remaining fancy clothing could tire her. Lily had been awake for over 48 hours,was desperate for rest, and figured the chance of an overdose was slight. She wasn't exactly suicidal, merely too overwhelmed to be careful. it sounds like a minor difference, but it's not. Insomnia is very disorienting, and makes rational thinking difficult. The ending in the novel is even more tragic because it was an accident,imho.

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[–] bootblack987 11 years ago

I didn't think the film made it look like a suicide attempt. Lily took two drinks (sips?) from the bottle and then lies down on her bed and dozes off. The remaining liquid in the bottle seeps out onto her bed. If she wanted to kill herself, wouldn't she have drunk the entire contents of the bottle?

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[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

"If she wanted to kill herself, wouldn't she have drunk the entire contents of the bottle?"

Yes, the amount she swallowed didn't seem to be larger than the previous couple of times she'd taken the medicine. However, her actions prior to administering the drug strongly suggested she'd decided to depart, so...

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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[–] bridgetjones12002 11 years ago

In my mind she absolutely killed herself. She paid off the final bill to that scum character Anthony Lapaglia, and she knew she would never have a future with the Erik Stoltz character that she came to love. She really didn't have much to live for..especially in that day and age. Was she to be a scullery maid? Her cousin was left all the money, and Lilly practically nothing. It never even occurred to me that it was an accident.

Remember us, for we too have lived, loved and laughed

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[–] randommovies2002 10 years ago

It wasn't Lapaglia, it was Ackroyd.

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