That Seems Familiar...: Chapters 9 & 10 (The House of Mirth Book 2)

The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton

With the resurgence of the theme of escaping debts, I realized I had  read about this theme before in The Hunger Games.  Alright, those books aren't masterpieces, but that wasn't part of the agreement.

Then Lily withdrew her bow... Hey, it would make this book A LOT more interesting.


In both stories, the protagonists spend a great deal of time calculating risks and, specifically in this section in regards to Lily, trying to free themselves from debt incurred because of others' selflessness.

In Lily's case, she finds herself in literal monetary debt and in debt to her friends for giving her everything she needs.  She tried to live in extravagance in order to maintain her status, but doing so came at a monstrous cost.  She is about $10,000 in debt (which I assume is the monetary value of the nation of Mozambique, but what do I know?).  More than that, when she tries to make arrangements until her aunt's legacy is paid, she finds herself in a different debt.  Any solution her friends offered her were obviously acts of charity, which she could not accept in order to preserve her pride.  She could never repay the kindness her friends offered her, so she chooses to live in near-poverty, which is only slightly better.  Lily clarifies her reasons for avoiding debt by thinking, "... and meanwhile her pride would be crushed under the weight of an intolerable obligation" (Wharton, 240).

In Katniss Everdeen's case, her debt is far more sinister and infinitely more difficult to repay.  Her debts come not from monetary loans; she's richer than almost everyone.  She owes her life to the sacrifices of others.  Just like Lily, she cannot bear the blemish her debts put on her pride.  Katniss goes so far to repay her debts she even actively attempts to sacrifice her own life.

Even though the debts of Lily Bart and Katniss Everdeen demand extremely different payments, the common reason for dreading the debts reveals a common aspect of human nature: almost everyone will do anything to preserve his or her pride.  Perhaps more significantly, these stories warn the reader that repaying debts often demands what a person is rather than what a person has.