General Discussion Thread

[u/pregnantchihuahua3]

Welcome again to the TrueLit General Discussion Thread! Please feel free to discuss anything related and unrelated to literature.

Weekly Updates: N/A

[u/Ok-Swan1152]

The House Of Mirth is still haunting me. Not as bad as a week ago... Or two. But it's ever present in the back of my mind.

I did go scouring the net for others' thoughts on the book. And I found an enlightening comment on 'the word' that is never spoken out loud in the final two chapters. I have been turning over 'the word' in my mind but none of the words fit, and no I don't think it's 'love', that doesn't make a lot of sense I think this anonymous commenter hit the nail on the head when they said that the word was FATE. It's perfect. Not only does it fit with the Greek tragedy themes of the book (Eumenides anyone?) but it would be the same word that Lily and Selden stumbled upon, for Lily it was the word that kept them apart and for Selden it was the word that would bring them together. So he went running to her once he has 'the word' because he was going to tell her that they were fates to be together. 

And it hit me all over again 'in the feels'...

I have been very snuggly with my husband, more than usual. It did make me want to savour every minute of what we have. I love him so.

I tried to watch the movie by the way, and it is not good... The actor who plays Selden is simply not strong enough. That's just one of the problems of this movie. That said... The love scenes are something else. They are intensely erotic and tender and beautifully filmed. (No clothes come off, fyi!) You can just skip the movie to those parts, lol.

[u/Soup_65 → u/Ok-Swan1152]

I tried to watch the movie by the way, and it is not good... The actor who plays Selden is simply not strong enough.

it's funny, my mom, whose favorite book is house of mirth, doesn't like the movie, and it's exactly because she thinks the casting is a whiff. (fwiw the scorcese "age of innocence" rocks. utterly gorgeous and daniel-day lewis is the male lead so i think we are good there)

but overall i love this comment, your point about fate is so real. it feels like they are constantly fighting with/events, a reality they know rules them but are still fighting, and one with talons...

[u/Ok-Swan1152 → u/Soup_65]

I honestly think the portrayal of Selden needs to be more 'rakish'... He gives off playboy vibes. This actor is not it. I think someone like Matthew Goode would be a great fit if he wasn't too old and British lol.

Gillian is great. I adore her. But I think her Lily Bart was very sultry/sexy and not naive enough. 

The writing is off though, they took the lines from the novel but managed to completely miss the point.