"Only one thought consoled her, and that was the contemplation of Lily's beauty She studied it with a kind of passion, as though it were some weapon she had slowly fashioned for her vengeance" (Wharton, 26).
Was anybody else reminded of the movie Titanic throughout this novel? The relationship between Rose and her mother mimics that of the relationship between Lily and her mother (so much so, that I honestly believe James Cameron has read Wharton's The House of Mirth). After the death of her husband, Mrs. Bart can no longer the strained life of luxury pretending the money still exists, but she does try. Lily must have taken after her mother because both put up a front that forces others to believe everything is alright even as the floor falls out from under them. Once the money expends itself, both mothers (Mrs. Bart and Rose's mother) throw their reliance on the beauty of their children and put extreme amounts of pressure on their daughters to marry rich. When this proves unsuccessful, both mothers seem to fade away. Mrs. Bart dies of "deep disgust" from living in a world of dinginess, and well, Ruth Bukater (Rose's mother) gets on a lifeboat and leaves her daughter aboard the Titanic. Lily is forced to take up residence with her aunt and by no means does Mrs. Peniston serve as a viable replacement for Lily's mother who claimed no shame in indulging in the luxuries of life. Mrs. Peniston lives a much more conservative lifestyle of which Lily seems to hold much disdain. Lily, forced to now fend for herself, hastens the process of choosing a husband as her life of dependence commences.
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