Works Cited Blaire, Amy L. Misreading The House of Mirth. American Literature 76.1 (2004) 14975. Project Muse.

14 March 2008 <http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/ search/search.cgi>. This article directly supports the relationship between Lilys vacillation between passivity and activity and the readers reaction to her development throughout the novel. Also, the novels conclusion and its relationship to death as a perfect loss of hope is developed. This article reinforces nearly all of the thematic elements in my discussion, but most importantly it provides a unique examination of contemporary norms reading, which supports the theme of spectatorship and defends the close readings analysis of reader/writer relations. Chapman, Mary. Living Pictures: Women and Tableaux Vivants in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction and Culture. Wide Angle 18 (1996) 2252. Project Muse. 15 March 2008 <http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/search/search.cgi>. This article examines the tradition of Tableaux Vivants, the expectation of passivity by women, and the representation of the male gaze in the Tableau Vivant scene. As this is a significant event in the novel and in the analysis of Lilys temporary representation as the idealized female subject to the male gaze. This article also examines the complex interrelationships between the different roles of women in the Tableau Vivant. Hovet, Grace Ann, and Hovet, Theodore R. Tableaux Vivants: Masculine Vision and Feminine Reflections in Novels by Warner, Alcott, Stowe, and Wharton. American Transcendental Quarterly 7.4 (1993) 335-57. EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier. 13 March 2008 < http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search?vid=2&hid=2&sid=b73f9cf7-

93dd-42d3-b066-b73d26fe5e13%40sessionmgr9>. This article articulates two critical points for the thesis: the masculine rhetoric of vision (para. 1) and the gendered associations present in the Tableau Vivant scene. The Chapman article, cited above, provides a greater focus on the placement of Tableaux Vivants in literature and history broadly, but this article focuses on the use of this device in specific texts with a focus on The House of Mirth. Specifically, Lilys position as object to the gaze of men within and without the Tableau scene as it relates to Lilys passivity. Restuccia, Frances L. The Name of Lily: Edith Whartons Feminism(s). Contemporary Literature 28.2 (1987) 22338. JSTOR. 15 March 2007 <www.jstor.org>. This article synthesizes multiple forms of feminism and not only provides an analysis of the expected role of the ideal female in the novel but also accounts for Lilys shifting between passivity and activity. Critically, Restuccia examines Lilys uncertainties of character as a form of feminism representing a break from all expected norms. Showalter, Elaine. The Death of the Lady (Novelist): Whartons House of Mirth. Representations 9 (1985) 13349. JSTOR. 12 March 2007 <www.jstor.org>. This article presents a critical approach to the historical status of women at the time of the novels composition, which helps to establish the association between contemporary conceptions of the feminine as it relates to passivity, hope, and the male gaze throughout the entire novel. This articles examination of changing conventions in womens writing further helps to support my close reading and the specific reader/writer relationship that it implies. Moreover, the focus on language and Lilys self-silencing (136) contributes significantly to the overall discussion of Lily as object to the male gaze.

Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. This is the primary text for my analysis, which will combine a close reading with a theoretical analysis in terms of gender and passivity. Wolff, Cynthia Griffin. Lily Bart and the Beautiful Death. American Literature. 46.1 (1974) 16-40. JSTOR. 16 March 2007 <www.jstor.org>. This work examines the role of art in The House of Mirth focusing on Lily as a representation of art and image. This work places ideas of male vision and the artistic nature of women in the context of Whartons time, helping to prevent anachronistic interpretations of these images, a particular danger in a close reading. Moreover, this essay focuses on a wide variety of scenes in the novel, especially the novels critical opening and closing scenes, which establish Lilys character as object of the male gaze and finalize the recurring cycle of hope and disappointment. Specifically, in the opening sequence, The narrator begins in Seldens mind, presents Lily only as he sees her, and shows him to have the lingering appraising, inventorial mind of the experienced collector (27-8). Finally, this article examines the passive/active binary as it is expressed in Lilys character, which parallels and supports the cycle of hope and disappointment.