Current Search: Wharton, Edith,--1862-1937--Criticism and interpretation. (x)
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Title
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Naturalist tendencies in three novels by Edith Wharton.
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Creator
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Mullins, Marjorie L., Florida Atlantic University, McGuirk, Carol
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Abstract/Description
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Although Edith Wharton once said she considered herself a writer of novels of manners, she exhibits naturalist tendencies in her writing. She shows the potential of both heredity and environment to ensnare and suppress the individual in his or her quest for self-determination. In The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Wharton reflects upon the changes that caused society to enforce its rules all the more strongly in an attempt to maintain its stability. In Ethan Frome she develops one...
Show moreAlthough Edith Wharton once said she considered herself a writer of novels of manners, she exhibits naturalist tendencies in her writing. She shows the potential of both heredity and environment to ensnare and suppress the individual in his or her quest for self-determination. In The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Wharton reflects upon the changes that caused society to enforce its rules all the more strongly in an attempt to maintain its stability. In Ethan Frome she develops one of the generally accepted themes of naturalism: the waste of human potential because of the forces of society. In these novels Wharton moves beyond the usual realism found in much of her fiction and places her characters in naturalist roles.
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Date Issued
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1996
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15270
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Subject Headings
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Wharton, Edith,--1862-1937--Criticism and interpretation., Naturalism in literature., Literature and society--United States., American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.
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Format
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Document (PDF)
