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Naturalist tendencies in three novels by Edith Wharton

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Date Issued:
1996
Summary:
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 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.
Title: Naturalist tendencies in three novels by Edith Wharton.
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Name(s): Mullins, Marjorie L.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
McGuirk, Carol, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1996
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 76 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: 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 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.
Identifier: 15270 (digitool), FADT15270 (IID), fau:12041 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.
Subject(s): Wharton, Edith,--1862-1937--Criticism and interpretation.
Naturalism in literature.
Literature and society--United States.
American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15270
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.