Informed by the theories of Max Weber, this essay argues for the necessity of distinguishing between social class and social status in literary texts. Using Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth as a case study, it argues that influential analyses of the novel overlook this distinction and often misinterpret important features of the book. One consequence is that those analyses overestimate the power of economic forces. A central tension of the novel is the conflict between those with money but no status, those with status but no money, and those with both money and status. The essay explores and interrogates the autonomy of class and status in the novel, arguing that many characters are engaged in a failing attempt to erect a sharp division between the two realms—an attempt arising from broader social conditions of the era. The essay concludes that acknowledging the tension between class and status helps us better understand several important features of the novel, including: Lily’s romantic preferences; the novel’s discourse on spectatorship, commodification, and collecting; and the book’s speech codes.

中文翻译：

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在华尔街和第五大道之间：伊迪丝·沃顿 (Edith Wharton) 的欢乐之家 (The House of Mirth) 中的阶级和地位

受马克斯·韦伯的理论启发，本文论证了区分文学文本中社会阶级和社会地位的必要性。以伊迪丝·沃顿 (Edith Wharton) 的欢乐之家 (House of Mirth) 作为案例研究，它认为对小说有影响力的分析忽略了这一区别，并且经常误解了本书的重要特征。一个后果是这些分析高估了经济力量的力量。小说的一个核心张力是有钱无地位、有地位没钱和有钱有地位的冲突。这篇文章对小说中的阶级和地位的自主性进行了探讨和质疑，认为许多人物试图在这两个领域之间建立尖锐的划分，但失败了——这种尝试源于那个时代更广泛的社会条件。文章的结论是，承认阶级和地位之间的紧张关系有助于我们更好地理解小说的几个重要特征，包括：莉莉的浪漫偏好；小说对观众、商品化和收藏的论述；以及本书的语音代码。