Question

the house of mirth is a 1905 novel by edith wharton. the protagonist, lily bart, struggles to maintain her social standing in new york high society despite her precarious financial situation. wharton depicts lilys attachment to wealth as almost an innate physiological requirement, suggesting that she lacks the constitutional resilience to survive in an environment of poverty. 10 which quotation from the house of mirth most effectively illustrates the claim? a \she had a sense of being in a place where she belonged... the sense of being well - dressed and having a pleasant background gave her a feeling of distinction which she could not help enjoying.\ b \she knew that she had been born to marry a rich man; and she felt that she had been born to be a great lady, and she knew it.\ c \she had always hated dinginess, and it was her fate to be dingy... it was a hateful fate—but how escape it? what choice had she? to be herself, or a gerty farish.\ d \she was not made for mean and shabby surroundings, for the squalid compromises of poverty. her whole being dilated in an atmosphere of luxury; it was the background she required, the only climate she could breathe in.\

Explanation:

To determine the correct quotation, we analyze how each option relates to the claim that Lily's attachment to wealth is an innate physiological requirement and she lacks resilience to poverty.

• Option A: Discusses her enjoyment of belonging and being well - dressed, but does not emphasize an innate need for wealth or inability to survive poverty.
• Option B: Focuses on her belief about being born to marry a rich man and be a great lady, which is more about social status expectations rather than a physiological need for wealth and inability to handle poverty.
• Option C: Talks about her hatred of dinginess and her fate, but does not convey the idea of an innate requirement for wealth and inability to survive in poverty as strongly as Option D.
• Option D: States that she was “not made for mean and shabby surroundings” and that luxury is “the only climate she could breathe in”. This directly illustrates that her need for wealth is like a physiological requirement (comparing luxury to a climate she needs to breathe) and she lacks the ability to survive in poverty.

Answer:

D. "She was not made for mean and shabby surroundings, for the squalid compromises of poverty. Her whole being dilated in an atmosphere of luxury; it was the background she required, the only climate she could breathe in."