How Henry James Influenced Edith Wharton

2195 Words5 Pages

Both the 19th and 20th century authors of Henry James and Edith Wharton are commonly compared to one another and their works are criticized as being close to, if not, the same. For ten years, the two authors had been close friends and even traveled throughout France and Europe together looking for inspiration and new ideas. Wharton had never taken any type of criticism well. Eventually Edith Wharton sent her first written story, “The Line of Least Resistance,” to Henry James and she learned to accept criticism respectfully as one author to another. Henry James soon became a vital literary advisor in some of her most famous works. But soon she began to follow the example of James closely and started to write in his style. This style included the construction of appearances along with a tragic ending. Writing with the manners, customs, and beliefs of the upper class society, also allowed James to question the truth of that society. While including this style in Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton also reflects Henry James’s ideas of an unreliable narrator, through the view of a different gender than that of the author, from The Turn of the Screw. In writing through the mind of another person, Henry James and Edith Wharton both used their knowledge of psychology to influence their works. But while psychology is only a minor influence in Wharton’s work, her texts closely resemble that of an influence from James. Since Henry James was a friend, critic, and mentor to Edith Wharton, her novel Ethan Frome, published in 1911, reflects the influences James had on her writing, especially from his novel The Turn of the Screw, published in 1898.

Henry James was one of the most famous authors of his generation. He was born on April 15, 184...

... middle of paper ...

...orks, LLC., 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

"Edith Wharton Biography." Bio. True Story. A & E Television Networks, LLC., 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

"Henry James." The National Portrait Gallery. Smithsonian. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Howe, Irving, ed. “On The Reef: A Letter.” Edith Wharton: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962. Print.

James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991. Print.

Killoran, Helen. "The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton." Google Books. 2001. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Liukkonen, Petri. "Edith Wharton." Books and Writers. Creative Commons, 2008. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

Powers, Lyall H., ed. Henry James and Edith Wharton: Letters: 1900-1915. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990. Print.

Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Ethan Frome And The House Of Mirth, By Edith Wharton

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    “For the first time in his life he sees her in a new light: he sees her as no longer the listless creature who had lived at his side in a state of self-absorption, but a mysterious alien presence an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding…” (Wharton 117) Edith Wharton is best known for her books Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth. Wharton was often compared to another writer in her time, Henry James. Even though this occurred, she considered her books one of a kind. She was pleased with her work, but the critics were not. Often, she received poor reviews, but this did not stop her; in fact, she then went on to be the first woman to win The Legion of Honor Medal. Wharton also won the Pulitzer Prize and a gold

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout “Ethan Frome,” Edith Wharton renders the idea that freedom is just out of reach from the protagonist, Ethan Frome. The presence of a doomed love affair and an unforgiving love triangle forces Ethan to choose between his duty and his personal desire. Wharton’s use of archetypes in the novella emphasizes how Ethan will make choices that will ultimately lead to his downfall. In Edith Wharton’s, “Ethan Frome.” Ethan is wedged between his duty as a husband and his desire for happiness; however, rather than choosing one or the other, Ethan’s indecisiveness makes not only himself, but Mattie and Zeena miserable.

    Read More

  • The Witch Wins in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ammons, Elizabeth. “Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome and the Question of Meaning.” Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 7, No. 2,

    Read More

  • Fantasy is an Escape from Fear in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perhaps Edith Wharton's reason for writing Ethan Frome, was that it so vividly reflected her own dreary life. Abandoned of any love as a child from her mother and trapped in a marriage similar to that of Zeena and Ethan, Wharton found herself relying on illicit love. This illicit love was also her favorite topic of writing, which helped her to escape her own tragedies. She spent many nights in the arms of other men searching desperately for the love she believed existed, but had never felt, which is evident in all of her writings.

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome - Realism

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rise of Realism in 1855 was the time when farming began to industrialize, communication expanded through railroads, and Nationalism was yet again revived. On top of all these important transformations that have marked this period of time was the significance for literature with a new audience, new settings, and new characters. The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is a magnificent example of literature from the Realistic period.

    Read More

  • Character And Characterization In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

    3341 Words  | 7 Pages

    Characterization is the process by which an author develops a character throughout a story. The novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton provides vivid and complex evidence which introduces and describes Mattie Silver, one of the main characters. The plot revolves around a bleak, dark, and barren landscape set in the town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Ethan Frome is viewed as an old, exhausted man who is tied down to his land to follow the constant demands of the farm and his necessitous, frail wife Zeena. His soul is begging to be released to a life of vitality and excitement, and when Zeena’s cousin Mattie steps into his life as an aide around the house, her energetic spirit and vivacity brings the liveliness that Ethan was lacking back into his

    Read More

  • Female Education In The Coquette By Hannah Webster Wharton

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 18th century, reading novels served as a pass time and a diversion from household chores for the women. Though formal female education is not developed, the female characters are seen having a keen interest in books, something that was earlier frowned upon for the sentimental content of books might be destructive to societal values. At the time, books were meant to teach and reflect upon the socially acceptable ideas of romance, courtship, and marriage. We find Miss Wharton asking for books to read from her friend Mrs. Lucy Sumner, “Send me some new books; not such, however, as will require much attention. Let them be plays or novels, or anything else that will amuse and extort a smile.” (Foster, 192) Mrs. Sumner sends her novels which she considers “chaste and of a lighter reading” (Foster, 196). We can thus construe that books and novels in The Coquette though meant for reading pleasure, also play form part of the female

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Garcia, Angela. "Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome." American Writers Classics. Ed. Jay Parini. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 89-108. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Animal Symbolism in Native Son by Richard Wright

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Richard Wright: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984. Rampersad, Arnold, ed., pp. 113-117. Richard Wright: A Collection of Critical Essays.

    Read More

  • The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edith Wharton was the author of The Age of Innocence, a novel published in 1920. In the book, many topics were considered, such as divorce, the empowerment of women, and the lifestyle of the wealthy. The inspiration for these motifs occurred throughout her life. Although Edith Wharton’s work was not well-received, the topics included in her writings held many truths about upper-class society in the late 1800s; therefore, Edith Wharton was influenced by her past and societal experiences.

    Read More

  • House of Mirth - The Nature of Nature

    1783 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lyde, Marilyn Jones.  Edith Wharton, Convention and Morality in the Work of a Novelist.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959.

    Read More

  • Zeena Quotes

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    Where did Wharton get her inspiration for her characters? Simply out of curiosity. With a single last question, why a pickle dish?

    Read More

  • Imagery And Symbolism In Elizabeth Ammon's The Myth Of Imperial Whiteness

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the case of Elizabeth Ammons, she introduces her analysis by stating that Edith Wharton,

    Read More

  • Morality in Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne and The Tell Tale Heart by Poe

    2604 Words  | 6 Pages

    'Young Goodman Brown,' by Hawthorne, and 'The Tell Tale Heart,' by Poe, offer readers the chance to embark on figurative and literal journeys, through our minds and our hearts. Hawthorne is interested in developing a sense of guilt in his story, an allegory warning against losing one's faith. The point of view and the shift in point of view are symbolic of the darkening, increasingly isolated heart of the main character, Goodman Brown, an everyman figure in an everyman tale. Poe, however, is concerned with capturing a sense of dread in his work, taking a look at the motivations behind the perverseness of human nature. Identifying and understanding the point of view is essential, since it affects a reader's relationship to the protagonist, but also offers perspective in situations where characters are blinded and deceived by their own faults. The main character of Poe?s story embarks on an emotional roller coaster, experiencing everything from terror to triumph. Both authors offer an interpretation of humans as sinful, through the use of foreshadowing, repetition, symbolism and, most importantly, point of view. Hawthorne teaches the reader an explicit moral lesson through the third person omniscient point of view, whereas Poe sidesteps morality in favor of thoroughly developing his characters in the first person point of view.

    Read More

  • Narrative Styles In Poe, Melville, Hawthorne

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    In works by three of the most classically American authors of the nineteenth century, Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne, a trait that can be considered common to all three authors is pronounced clearly as a means to their narration. This trait is that of deploying a narrative laden with- and moreover led by –conversational phrasing and asides. The flow of passages in these authors’ works, Bartleby, Arthur Gordon Pym, and The House of Seven Gables, takes on a spoken structure, and numerous operations are made by each writer to establish a link with the reader as though he or she is actually engaged in an exchange of living conversation with the author. This approach is probably quite intentional and may be seen, since it is occurring in some of the most celebrated American authors of the period, to be one that portrays the literary mindset and mechanic at large during the time in which these books were written.

    Read More

More about How Henry James Influenced Edith Wharton

Open Document