CAJ | 학술논문

The House of Mirth is the masterpiece of Edith Wharton,the prominent American woman novelist.One salient feature of the characterization of the protagonist,Lily Barter,is the constant conflict between her two selves:the inborn good self and the mercenary self inculcated by social forces.Drawing on the metaphor of cave in Plato's Republic,this thesis analyzes the dual aspects of Lily's character in the light of feminist perspective.Lily's good self is compared with Plato's ideal world of forms while her mercenary self with Plato's world of shadows where people are shackled.Due to the overwhelming social forces in a male-dominated capitalistic world,Lily is destined to have no way out.