"The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton intricately portrays the life and social struggles of Lily Bart, a beautiful but impoverished woman navigating New York's elite society in the early 1900s. With her beauty as her only asset, Lily grapples with the pressures of wealth, status, and societal expectations. As she teeters on the edge of scandal and financial ruin, Wharton masterfully examines themes of ambition, morality, and the harsh realities of a merciless social world.