Wednesday, March 28, 2012

I like Edith Wharton

       Edith Wharton's Summer was one of my favorite reads ever to be assigned in class. In fact, I've had House of Mirth on my bookshelf for quite sometime and I took it down last night to begin reading it. Also, someone asked me after noticing me reading Summer, "Don't you find those old books a little dry?" I suppose I could understand since the conflicts in the story are so unlike our own in present day and seem to be miniscule in comparison to today's larger problems but I was still taken aback. I replied that the language was not only enticing but offered and change of pace in its heavily descriptive scenes and complex dialect. Also, Edith Wharton was a highly intellectual individual and her stories reflect her ability to form complete, complex thoughts.
       Another aspect of Wharton's story that I found particularly drawing was the way she conjured the feeling of the inevitable ending that we all knew was approaching, yet she allowed hope for a happy ending at the same time. Her play with inevitability on what seems like a joyous and unique encounter, how she draws the reader in with romance and the fleeting feeling of happiness, and her, what many would call, an unhappy ending is what made the book particularly special. If it would have ended with Mr. Harney coming back to marry Charity, I'm sure I wouldn't mind it but Wharton's ability to make a good ending out of a bad situation is what draws me in. Everybody likes a happy ending but Wharton takes a chance by giving you something else: the inevitability of failure.

3 comments:

  1. I can't believe someone actually said that to you. I say shame on them; they obviously do not know what they are missing. Plus I would say that if you really look at the works of the past, they do still in some small ways represent the present. The language may have changed as well as the social norms, but some of the situations are the same. For example in Summer Mr. Royall ends up marrying Charity-in our time or I should say a few years ago, Woody Allen married his step-daughter (I believe that is what she was-I know she was related to him).
    I really like Edith Wharton's works. She does seem to build up to a happy ending and although it may not be the ending we all want, it is still a happy ending...for Charity, she got a husband who will take care of her and does seem to love her and she gets to have her baby without having to force a man to marry her. In that sense it is a happy ending.
    If you like Wharton's works you might want to read "Xingu". It is a hilarious piece about an elite group of women who all belong to the same book club and each one believes they are better than the other. Kind of a hierarchy within the book club...there is of course more to this story, but I don't want to spoil it for you, in case you do want to read it.
    ~Amy Nellis

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  2. I've also really enjoyed the Edith Wharton pieces we've read so far. I know that personally, I've made the mistake of thinking that certain literature would be boring or unrelatable because of the time period in which it was written. As I've been exposed to a wider variety of literature, I realize how wrong I was. Wharton writes in a way that is refreshingly modern and easy to get through. She creates compelling characters and stories, and is able to paint a vivid picture of the scenes. She was obviously an incredibly smart, well-rounded woman, and her writing reflects that.

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  3. I'm glad you enjoyed Wharton's work, Stevie, and I think you'll enjoy _The House of Mirth_. I like what you said about her ability to create that fleeting feeling of happiness and create a satisfactory if not an entirely happy ending.

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