Edith Wharton - The House of M

A detailed Summary of Edith Wharton - The House of M

Edith Wharton was born as Edith Newbold Jones in an aristocratic family in the city of New York. Wharton had no formal education but she was privileged enough to use her father's library and was privately educated at home by governesses and tutors. She was expected to learn the social etiquette and conduct herself as a well-bred woman. She exhibited her creative talents from her childhood. Even before she could read she made up stories and later as an adolescent she wrote stories and novellas. At the age of twenty-three Wharton married Teddy Wharton. But their marriage was not a successful one for Teddy could not match Edith in her intellectual or artisitic interests. Apart from her career as a writer Wharton had a very important role to play as a social matron.During the first World War Wharton untiringly worked for the refugees in Paris.She also opened hostels and workhouses for women who had no support.However Wharton was dissatisfied as a wife and a society matron She lived in Paris till her death. She returned to United States only once and that was to accept the Pulitzer prize for her novel The Age of Innocence. Wharton authored about forty books and during her lifetime she enjoyed the company of writers lik

Though Lily Bart makes conscious attempts to identify herself with the society, she subconsciously seems to escape from the age of ornament. The accidents like Lily's missing church, which results in Percy Gryce finding someone else is her protest against marriage and her revolt against being a stagnant object. Further it is indispensable to observe that Lily succeeds in getting eligible men to propose to her. However she doesn't commit to any of them. Her marital prospects with Gryce gets cancelled when she indulges in a walk with Selden. Lily avoids her suitors either by running away literally or by running away mentally. In the first chapter when Lily is in Benedick she feels how delicious it is to have a place exclusively for oneself. Lily feels sorry that she is deprived of such privileges. She feels how lucky men are for no conscious effort is made on their part to get married or attain status in society. Lily actually suffers from an internal conflict . She wants to be an ordinary person . At the same time her mother's words keeps lingering in her mind . Lily allows herself to be treated as a human ornament. But she also feels " what a miserable thing it is to be a woman ."Her pride prevents her from leading a simple life. Unlike Lily there are woman like Gerty Farish who lives in her own flat and makes her own living. Lily chooses to be an ornament because that is the only way she will be able to earn a social status for herself. Lily unable escape from the clutches of the materialistic society opts to die rather than live. Lily accepts her status as an object only externally. She manages to retain her innate characteristics till her death.

e Hemmingway Theodre Roosevelt and Henry James. The writer Henry James immensely influenced Wharton .

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Approximate Word count = 1875
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels