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Edith Wharton’s American Society
Edith Wharton, one of the great American novelists of the late 19th century, criticizes and presents intriguing insights into a tightly bound, self-centered upper-class American society. As a young girl, Edith strove to find herself within her strict social class. Through the harsh restrictions she experiences while growing up, she realizes the worst aspects of New York society, and writes about them in her novels, The House of Mirth and The Custom of the Country.
Edith Wharton was born in her parents’ Manhattan house on January 24, 1862. Edith’s family belonged to a wealthy and aristocratic New York society, whose ancestries dated back to the American Revolution. ... ” When Edith discovered literature, she began to read and write. ... Edith felt lonely and different from the rest of the women in her class because she wanted to express herself intellectually, but was born in a time period where girls were expected to be “proper,” marry, and bear children. ...
In The House of Mirth, Wharton criticizes the worst aspects of her society, focusing on her fears while growing up: imprisonment and isolation, as William Leach says (47). Wharton’s social position enables her to bring her upper-class New York society into literature in all its concreteness and authenticity and also makes it possible for her to recognize the complex and subtle relationships between our personal destinies and the destiny foretold by our social status. ... Edith Wharton identifies with the upper-case Society which she investigates and locates herself in relation to the story she tells.
Approximate Word count = 1226
Approximate Pages = 4.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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