Lillie's Aunt Julia
Eleanor Bron can act but this character and her looks make her so ghastly , even ghoulish . Yikes !
shareI agree, and I think that her character didn't appear realistic (or even human) at all. It was an overstated portrayal of a grim and bitter person, and she came across like a witch from a fairytale.
It's actually one of the few weak aspects of this film IMO. Mainly because we do not understand how Grace (and also Lily to an extent) could be so lovingly devoted to her.
You saved the world, Scully. -- Yeah... You're right, I did.
They are both of them lovingly devoted to HER MONEY!
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
And speaking of money was it possible that those wealthy New Yorkers gave to charity????
shareI believe that some did. Lily herself gave to charity during her brief period of prosperity.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
That's interesting. I'm not sure myself if Wharton ever considered that with her characters. I just got the impression that the wealthy group was very "insular".
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They were fairly insular, but not 100% in a bubble.
There were various hangers-on, of which strictly speaking Lily was one. Tame lawyers like Seldon who could be trusted to be discrete, who would occasionally be invited to parties but was never truly "one of us".
People like Carrie Fisher who could be trusted with various errands, or Lily herself, who would help out with writing invitations and would make a fourth at bridge.
There would be financiers like Rosedale who was so useful to the men in business. He was disliked for being common, and possibly there was some anti-semitism at work here; but he was becoming so powerful that it was not wise to offend him by leaving him out of parties.
Then there would be artists and tame musicians; respected for their talent, and patronised, but again, never really "one of us".
Some of this circle, like Percy Grice, were fairly religious; in which case they would (we hope) take the duty of Charity seriously. There is mention of a "tiresome" English aristocrat who "bored" everyone with her good works; and the rather sweet Gerty Forrish who got invited to parties and used the opportunity to discretely raise money for working girls in distress.
I am of course referring to the book, not the film. The film sadly leaves out all reference to Lily's acts of charity. But in the book, Lily's claim to be a useless person is belied by the fact that there are two human lives that owe their existence to Lily's generosity.
In case you haven't guessed, this is one of my favourite books, and one of my favourite films. :)
Here is an address for a free audio version of The House of Mirth, for anyone who is interested.
http://librivox.org/the-house-of-mirth-by-edith-wharton/
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Well I believe this is a great film looking at the behavior of a specific "tribe" at a specific time. I've always wondered how Wharton, being of the upper class herself, related personally to her work. There's a kind of 'Darwinsim' so to speak in the work where the group works on "outsiders" not consciously trying to say "kill" but not getting in the way if that's a possible scenario. It's tempting to think Wharton in a moral conundrum but I could be wrong.
shareEdith Wharton was in a moral conundrum. She had made a conventional society marriage and was deeply unhappy, as her husband cheated on her countless times. But she didn't believe in divorce and so she stuck it out for as long as possible. Eventually in 1913 she did divorce and went to live in France. But only after having had a nervous breakdown.
She actually won the French Legion of Honour for her charitable work with refugees.
I think that Edith Wharton always felt like an outsider in that world; possibly because she was an intelligent woman with a desire to write, when other women of her class were supposed to be merely decorative. It is clear to me however, that Edith Wharton was a woman who was naturally industrious. Go check out her Wikipedia enty to find out how much she achieved once she had cut free of her New York connections. She was phenomenal.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Very good..thx for that brief bio. So you think Wharton wrote to excise the "class" in her?
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I'm not sure. Maybe to find a different way of being a Lady.
I don't know enough to answer that.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Right.....The fact that she wrote the "House of Mirth" told mem this was a topic that intrigued her very much. No doubt it had to come from her inner self. I'm sure it rang the 'moral' bells in her head a bit. I don't think Wharton herself was a ruthless individual but some of her class were. Some of them were terrible human beings. I'm fascinated how all that reflected back to her.
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