Current Search: Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937 (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)
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Title
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Edith Wharton: self-actualization through characterization in The Age of Innocence.
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Creator
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Feuerberg, Betty., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
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Abstract/Description
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Edith Wharton uses characterization in the primary three characters in The Age of Innocence to explore the aspects of her life. Early adulthood is represented by May Welland Archer, who was born into New York 400, where society suppressed an individual's emotions, aspirations, and freedoms. The intermediate phase of her life is depicted in Newland Archer, who tests the confining limits of the society to which he belongs and strives to understand the role of emotions in achieving personal...
Show moreEdith Wharton uses characterization in the primary three characters in The Age of Innocence to explore the aspects of her life. Early adulthood is represented by May Welland Archer, who was born into New York 400, where society suppressed an individual's emotions, aspirations, and freedoms. The intermediate phase of her life is depicted in Newland Archer, who tests the confining limits of the society to which he belongs and strives to understand the role of emotions in achieving personal satisfaction. Wharton rejected and craved the ties of the New York 400 in the final phase of her life as portrayed in Ellen Olenska who left the 400, lived in Europe, and returned to New York. By developing these characters, Wharton attempts to retrospectively reconcile the transformations she experienced. Indeed, it will be clear that Wharton's work serves as a personal assessment of her self-actualization.
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Date Issued
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2013
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3360784
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Subject Headings
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Criticism and interpretation, Women and literature, History, Feminism in literature
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Format
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Document (PDF)
