This is a difficult book to get through. It is long, with elaborate descriptions and many superficial characters. Of course, this was all done purposefully by Edith Wharton, and is meant to reveal a lot about the intricacies of society at that time.Of course, the problem is always balancing the sympathy and the condemnation of a society who values appearances and status over morals or thoughts about the greater good. Wharton, however, does a good job of balancing these two feelings. Lily is the tragic hero, so often assumed by a male character, but here is transformed into symbol of a superficial female. Her tragic flaw is a combination of a shifting personality and an upbringing that prepared her for nothing beyond looking pretty. Lily recognizes at once, the limitations of her position and her own personal flaws that contribute to her fall. While well-written and a classic for important reasons, not all of the characters are well-developed, there are gaps in the story, and in the end, perhaps Lily is not as sympathetic as a hero as Wharton intended. Still, it is a great read.