Socially Invisible People In The House Of Mirth And The Invisible Man
What does it mean to be socially invisible? Wikipedia defines socially invisible as something that occurs when, to a material degree, the social network that would ordinarily bind a group to the larger society is inadvertently or intentionally pruned, ultimately leaving the subgroup as a social 'island'. The social influence of a group subject to invisibility is diminished, much like the position of untouchables in a caste society. Two characters in two novels comparatively are socially invisible to those around them. In the Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth Lily Bart is socially invisible not only by her looks but also her economic/social status and Griffin in H.G Wells, The Invisible Man social invisibility is shown by being outcasted based on his physical appearance. Both Lily and Griffin were shunned by their social network based merely on their appearances, their social standing and low self-worth. Both these characters wanted nothing more than to be recognized by their peers for more than their physical appearances and social standing and self-worth.
In society both looks, and social status play a huge part on how people flourish as individuals and where they fall in terms of being socially visible or invisible. In the case of Griffin, he was born albino and looked different than his peers this placed him as an outcast amongst society. Griffin is in a sense “invisible” long before he makes himself invisible to the naked eye. He is never really noticed as or a welcomed member of society until after he makes the discovery of becoming invisible. Once he became invisible, he felt that he was superior to others and in power. He no longer felt as though he was the inferior race, but rather superior because of his scientific abilities to make himself invisible something that no one had ever done before. Bowser reiterates this theory Griffin has of being superior, “inhering primarily in the extent to which Griffin is a figure desirous of societal evolution. Griffin clearly fancies himself a revolutionary figure, ready to inspire a new world order. He at one point declares Iping to be in “a beast of a county…and pigs for people” Griffin, one assumes, represents the next evolutionary step from these beasts.” (Bowser 24) Lily on the other hand was not outcasted by members of her society due to her looks, her looks were quite the contrary. Lily was admired by women and especially men because of her beauty. Her beauty, however, ultimately became her demise in the end. Gargano states, “Like the old Bolshevik who confesses to uncommitted crimes in attestation of the superior moral authority of the state, Lily affirms the absolute power of society over the life of the individual by her demonstration that she is finally incapable of effective action on her own behalf” ( Gargano 137) She turned away many suitors in hopes of landing the one who could help her reach the highest rung amongst the socially elite. Killoran states, “As a controlling logic, a mode of human conduct and human association, the marketplace is everywhere and nowhere, ubiquitous and invisible” (Killoran 36) In order to keep up with her beauty she spent money that she did not have to keep up with her facade that she belonged amongst them. This and her gambling debts only pushed her that much further away from reaching her goal of being amongst the elite. Lily is like Griffin in the sense that she was trapped in this mirage of trying to fit into society but once she hit her lowest point is when she finally became freer. Both Griffin and Lily are alike in the sense that they cannot get by in their society on looks alone. Lily flounders at trying to fit into a flawed elite society meanwhile, Griffin just wants to be seen for more than his albinism. Not only does the two characters outer appearances connect them, but also their similar social status they came from that also makes them socially invisible to those around them.
Another crucial part of being socially visible is what social and economic status a person belongs to and how a society views an individual based on that social class and status. Many believe that if you are not amongst the rich and socially elite that you are nothing and invisible to the world, including both Lily and Griffin. For many people like Lily and Griffin who grow up on a lower end of the social class they must fight to move up in social status, both of which did fight to try to improve their low social standing. Lily is born into a lower social status, who later becomes an orphan that is taken in by her aunt. Her main objective in life, which her mother instills in her at an early age and reiterates until the day that she dies, is that she must find a suitor who can give her not only the monetary life she deserves, but also be able to help her move up the social ladder. Lily’s mother ends up having her convinced that this is the social class she was destined to be in. Kasanoff reiterates this ideology, “-in the way I was brought up, and the things I was taught to care for. Or no-I won’t blame anybody for my faults; I’ll say it was in my blood…” (Kassanoff 60) Lily attempts to land this status by not only marrying the most rich and elite; but also attempts to gamble to keep up with her mirage of being a part of the wealthy. Lily gets herself so far into gambling debt that she gains a very bad reputation of being promiscuous with men in the higher class. Her actions lead to scaring off potential suitors once they hear the gossip being spread about Lily. Griffin also came from a lower social class but was much poorer than Lily. Griffin is so poor that his family steals from others to survive and Griffin ultimately steals from his own father to fund his scientific research which leads to his father committing suicide. Griffin is determined to get the funds by any means necessary. He does this by becoming invisible and stealing from anyone he can. He wanted so desperately to not only fit in amongst a higher social class but also to fit in amongst other scientists. Both characters wanted to be socially accepted into a higher socially class and both had two different ways of trying to achieve that visibility, one did unthinkable things to try to reach that status and the other gambled and tried to use her looks to get her where she wanted to be in life. Not only do these characters share the previous low social status and socially invisibility based on appearances, but they also share one other; values. Both Lily and Griffin share the same values or mindset of themselves, they both have negative self-worth and low self-esteem.
A person’s self-worth and their self-esteem also play a role in whether a person in visible in their society or forced into being socially invisible and stuck living a very lonely existence. Both Lily and Griffin struggled with finding their self-worth and gaining high self-esteem. In Griffin’s case, his low self-esteem stemmed from being socially excluded and singled out due to his appearance. This was only the beginning of his low self-esteem issues, the inability for him to move forward in his scientific studies gave way for an even worse attitude towards those around him and deepened his lack of self-esteem that much more. Singh notes, “Part of Griffin’s problem lies in his rejection by society. He is frustrated by the interference of petty individuals and misunderstood by those with whom he comes into contact.” (Singh 20) As Griffin progresses with his scientific research, he grows more and more suspicious of those around him. He becomes very guarded about his discovery and feels threatened by those around him. He feels that if anyone finds out about his discovery that they will steal it and try to take credit for his discovery of invisibility. Singh also says in his article, “we sense the growing feeling of self-importance and perverted intentions: I had to do my work under frightful disadvantages. Oliver, my professor, was a scientific bounder, a journalist by instinct, a thief of ideas – he was always prying!” (Singh 20) Lily also suffers from low self-esteem and self-worth when she realizes just how bad off, she is. She does not receive the inheritance that she was certain she would get, she chased off potential suitors and ends up on her deathbed alone, broke, husbandless and childless. In Gargano’s article he states, “All of her disappointments lead, however painfully, to a clarification of her baffling inconsistencies, her aversions and her tortured waverings. It takes a her a whole ambivalent life to evolve and possess a belief that dissolves the omnipresent and clamorous absurdity of her own.” (Gargano 143) Lily is surrounded by constant reminders of how far off path she has fallen. Not only is she paraded around to different parties for the pleasure of those in the societal circle she so desperately seeks to be part of and almost in a sense rubbed in her face of the lavish life she will never be a part of without marrying into it. She also sees women who she never thought would marry or be successful, being successful, married and having children; meanwhile she is alone and broke. Lily begins to see just how lonely her life has become and just how little worth her life has when she runs into an old friend, Nettie, whom was a poor working girl that Lily helped save and finds out she is married and has a child, this run in only adds to her negative self-worth and already low self-esteem. Lily’s final revelation of her negative self-worth and low self-esteem is seen when she shares with Selden how she had hoped for him to help her believe in herself and help her feel more worthy of being a part of the social class she felt she was destined to belong to. Gargano states, “During her last conversation with him she tells him, “I needed the help of your belief in me” (Gargano 142) In the end both Lily and Griffin perished not only by their own demise but also by their desire to become socially visible for who they were.
Griffin and Lily are alike in many aspects such as their appearance, their social class and their overall self-worth which lead them to be socially invisible. In the end of both novels and for both these characters their desire to become socially visible caused their final demise. Griffin’s final demise was in thinking he was superior to those around him because of his scientific ability to become an invisible man and Lily’s demise was as Gargano put it, “schemes for success,” and “money assures privilege, but privilege, too cheaply construed, dissipates into an expense of spirit and a waste of shame.” (Gargano 139). In the end both characters were still socially invisible, Lily did not marry into the socially elite as she had hoped for but rather died in a shabby boarding house and Griffin died still socially invisible not only due to his looks but also due to his manipulation of superiority in the discovery of how to become invisible and his misuse of his invisibility to cause chaos and turmoil amongst other members of society. Singh says, “Can a scientific objective be tenable if it alienates its pursuer from the society around him?” (Singh 19) Had these two characters been able to embrace and cherish their own self-worth, their appearances and their social status, they may become less socially invisible to those around them.
