Souls Belated, By Edith Wharton Wharton's Use Term Paper

PAGES
2
WORDS
771
Cite
Related Topics:

¶ … Souls Belated, by Edith Wharton [...] Wharton's use of infidelity/divorce and its social consequences in the work. SOULS BELATED

Edith Wharton's novels and short stories are often based on love, tragedy, or a combination of the two. Many critics noticed Wharton's use of infidelity and divorce in her works. One noted, "Divorce, to which she gave particular attention, can in her stories never be quite complete" (Van Doren 275).

In "Souls Belated," the reader learns the two main characters, Lydia and Gannett are "sorry to be alone" at the very beginning of the story, which sets the tone for their relationship, and the remainder of the tale, so it is no surprise when Lydia receives a divorce notice in the mail. "Divorce. There it stood, an impassable barrier, between her husband's name and hers" (Wharton). The surprise is she is not traveling with her husband, so her relationship with her lover is as bad as her relationship with her husband, or so the reader presumes. She thinks to herself that she made her marriage "do," and even though this story was written in 1899, it could be just as relevant today, when so...

...

She writes, "I begin to see what marriage is for. It's to keep people away from each other" (Wharton).
She loves Gannett, but she is afraid he loves her because he "has" to, and she is afraid to jump into another relationship so quickly. Divorce to her means "freedom," and life with Gannett means much of the same she suffered with her husband. In an amusing twist, Lydia reluctantly befriends another "fallen" woman who is attempting to obtain a divorce, and has run away with her lover. While Lydia does not want to be judged by others about her divorce, she judges Mrs. Cope, falling into the same societal trap. Divorce and infidelity are almost the norm in this story, which Wharton seems determined to make normal, no matter what society thinks. She portrays the divorced women as real - living, breathing characters. They are not evil; they are just like the woman next door. By making them sympathetic, it seems she hopes to make the entire act of divorce more sympathetic and so more acceptable to stuffy Victorian society.

Socially, divorce was extremely scandalous when Wharton…

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Lombardi, Esther. "A Backward Glance." About.com. 2000. 13 Feb. 2003. http://classiclit.about.com/library/weekly/aa030101a.htm

Lovett, Robert Morss. Edith Wharton. New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1925.

Van Doren, Carl. The American Novel, 1789-1939. Revised ed. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940.

Wharton, Edith. "Souls Belated." Personal Web Page. 2000. 13 Feb. 2003. http://www.geocities.com/short_stories_page/whartonsoulsbelated.html


Cite this Document:

"Souls Belated By Edith Wharton Wharton's Use" (2003, February 13) Retrieved April 25, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/souls-belated-by-edith-wharton-wharton-144013

"Souls Belated By Edith Wharton Wharton's Use" 13 February 2003. Web.25 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/souls-belated-by-edith-wharton-wharton-144013>

"Souls Belated By Edith Wharton Wharton's Use", 13 February 2003, Accessed.25 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/souls-belated-by-edith-wharton-wharton-144013

Related Documents

Infidelity Amongst the Military and Why it Occurs In this cause and effect essay, I have discussed the issue of infidelity and the reasons of its occurrence in the military marriages. I have emphasized on the causes of infidelity and have also discussed its consequences on the couple and their family, especially children. It is not possible to come out of the tension and anxiety that one experiences after a military marriage

Genuine Forgiveness, Repression, and Codependence in The Gilded Six-Bits The evolution of the relationship between Joe and Missie May demonstrates the way that infidelity (and betrayal or serious disappointment) can damage a marital relationship even when the individuals make the conscious decision to remain together. First, in taking his conscious anger out mainly on Slemmons rather than on Missie May, Joe is probably displacing his anger onto the person with whom

Infidelity Within Couples
PAGES 5 WORDS 1895

reception by the critics. The couples in this novel fear death, and in an attempt to reduce and cover up their fears, they sleep with their married friends, forming a sort of "infidelity cult." "Couples" does not celebrate marriage; it bemoans it. It does not celebrate adultery and infidelity; it shows how it can ruin marriages and lives. This book is more about a changing society, and how religion

What are some factors that can cause Infidelity? How does these factors typically cause infidelity? Infidelity is both a cause of marital breakdown and an effect thereof (Previti & Amato, 2004). The causes of infidelity are as innumerable as people themselves. Differential attitudes and outlooks on marriage, issues related to self-concept and self-esteem, perceptions of the marital contract itself and gender roles, and cultural variables can also play into the decision

Kant would view Woods as unethical not just as a husband, but as a public figure and professional golfer. Utilitarian Ethics Analysis: Guided by the central utilitarian principle that morality may defined as the creation, extension or preservation of happiness for the largest number of people at all times, Mill's ideas are conceptually antithetical to Kant's devotion to absolute morality. Where Kant presents the argument that moral order is impossible to

Counseling Session: Tommy Brown As noted by Meyers (2016), one of the greatest challenges for any counselor is dealing with a client with whom the counselor disagrees, morally and personally, or clients who have done unethical (but not illegal or dangerous) things. In the case of Tommy Brown, this individual in his thirties is married, but has had an affair with another woman, resulting in that woman’s pregnancy. This woman has